#but not the other stuff I ordered and which shipped sooner? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

merlot-and-chardonnay · 4 months

Text

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 9

Chapter 8

--------------flashback: Red Keep----------------

You lay in the bathtub, steam rising from the water which did little to calm your nerves.

It was little more then several hours ago when you finally received confirmation of what you suspected.

You were with child. Daemon's child.

Now you needed to plan your next move. You couldn't stay here, that much was certain. You heard of physicians in Volantis that could make this inconvience go away and you could return and resume your post as the princess' personal Bard. Or you could go back to the Continent, find an herbalist in Velen; it was closer and it was a place you were more familiar with.

No, you think to yourself. This wasn't an inconvience, at least it wasn't to you. Even if this would ultimately cost you your standing with Rhaenyra and the royal family, you could always return home, back to people who would care and support you regardless of the situation you were in.

Or...what if you decided to go to Dragonstone instead and tell Daemon? Would he take responsibility? Would he try to persuade the king to have his current marriage annulled, or at the very most, would Daemon take you as his second wife in accordance with Valyrian tradition?

Even if he did, your biggest concern would be how this life inside you would potentially be treated. Having been conceived out of wedlock, this child would likely be treated as a bastard.

No, you think once more, this wasn't an option either. This place...King's Landing, you knew, was little more than a den of brooding vipers that would strike at any given opportunity, especially if they found out who the father of this child was. This was no place to raise your baby.

You needed to leave. You needed to return to your homeland.

The sooner the better.

You get out of the tub and dry yourself off. After putting on some clothes, you quickly pack your bags and get your other belongings together. Some stuff you were going to have to leave behind, others you'll have to sell in order to afford passage on whatever ship is heading to Novigrad or Oxenfurt, but you'll make your peace with it.

You hear a knock at the door, startling you and causing you to jump.

You go to answer it, seeing the one face you didn't want to be seeing anytime soon. You stare at Otto Hightower, glaring at him.

"If you come to pull me out by the hair again, I will scream," you sneer, "you planning to threaten me again? Accusing me of spying like you did in the small council chamber?"

Otto looked into your room to see you belongings were packed, "going somewhere, lady Bardess?" he asks, "planning a long journey? Maybe to Volantis?"

Your eyes widen, knowing exactly what he was talking about, "How did...?" "You think I haven't been paying attention to your behavior the last several weeks?" Otto asks, "you think I don't know the signs? I was married before, I know these things."

You sigh, crossing your arms, "I guess you already know who the father is then?" Otto nods, making you feel sick (though not enough to empty your stomach again, much as you would actually like to on Otto at this moment).

The look on Otto's face said all about what he knew about your dalliance with the Rogue Prince.

"What could you possibly want from me?" you ask.

"I can give you a way out of this," Otto tells you, making step back from him, "You expect me to drink the moon tea from you again?" you scoff.

"You are an unmarried woman who is with child," Otto scoffs back, "the prince's child no less. And one that will become a bastard should you carry on with this pregnancy. Would you truly be so cruel as to put it through such a fate?"

"It could be worse," you sneer, "maybe this child will become a bastard, but at least it will be well loved and surrounded by people who will care for them." "What people?" Otto scoffs again, "the White Wolf? You former lover?"

You frowned, wondering how the lord Hand knew this, "I looked into what that...witch said concerning you," Otto explains, "I knew you Continental women had a penchant for odd tastes and unrestrained appetites...but to willing sully yourself with a cutthroat, a butcher who's body was twisted by unnatural magics? Even someone such as you, who would whore yourself to prince to curry more favor with the royal family, I never would've imagined was capable of such depravity."

"Funny...I was going to say the exact same thing," you lightly laugh, "I've seen the way your daughter has been dressing lately since the Queen has passed. All those secret meetings she's been having with the king? I know the Lady Alicent well enough to know she doesn't exactly think for herself. And since the good and 'pure' princess couldn't have possibly thought up such a plan, the only other person I can of that has put such unholy thoughts in her head is her father. You hoping to curry more favor with the king, Otto? That he'll make your daughter the new queen and give you greater influence on him and this realm?"

"You forget yourself and to whom you speak," Otto warns. "The truth makes you uncomfortable doesn't it?" You continue, "I wonder how high a pedestal you must be on to accuse ME of depravity, Lord Hand. I have my flaws, I won't deny that. I've done things I'm not proud of...but I would never go so far as to pimp out my own daughter so as to further consolidate more power for my house."

Otto's glare narrows as leans down at you in a threatening way, "you are treading a very thin line right now," he warns. "Oh, what are you going to do? Tell the king? Kiss his ass while you're at it?" you mock, refusing to back down, "go on, Lord Hand, go tattle to the king, tell him about my depraved appetites. And tell him who the father of this child is as well. His Grace may listen to you on royal matters, but he loves his family, maybe just enough to have this child legitimized. And if this same child turns out to be a son...I imagine it would give Prince Daemon the upper hand to claim the Iron throne. Are you really willing to take that chance? However much you despise me, I know you despise the prince even more."

You and Otto were at a standoff, you waiting in anticipation to see if the man would call your bluff. This continued for what seemed like forever, until Otto stood back. "Yeah, that's what I thought," you say, a sense of victory within you.

"Don't worry, Lord Hand," you continue, "No one will ever know about this. I'll leave on the first ship out of here to Oxenfurt. Tell the king and the princess whatever you wish as to why I left, I don't care. Not anymore. Just know you'll never hear from me again."

Otto had a certain look on his face, like he was thinking. You hold your breath, anticipating what he was going to say.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sack of gold, handing it to you, "I believe this will suffice for the next passage," he says.

You push the sack away, "I'm not accepting any kind of charity from you," you tell you. "This is not charity," Otto assures, placing the gold in your hand, "this is to insure that you will keep you word. That you will leave and never come back, and no one in King's Landing will ever hear from you again."

You nod and grab what you could from your room.

Before you left, you turn to Otto, "you know, there is one thing Daemon was right about," you say, "you really are a cunt."

You turn and leave before Otto even had a chance to retaliate.

-------------end of flashback: Kaer Morhen-------------

"Oh my gosh, aren't you the cutest baby ever," Jaskier coos as he holds Aemma in his arms, "cutest niece I should say. I can hardly believe it. Heh, I'm an uncle. Uncle Jaskier, I like the sound of that. What do you think, Aemma? You like the sound of that? Uncle Jaskier."

Aemma just looked at Jaskier the way babies do. "I think she does," Jaskier says, "My, she does have the most violet eyes I've ever seen on a baby. Father must be part elf, it's the only explanation."

"It isn't," Geralt says. "Yeah, (y/n)'s made it clear at least dozen times," Eskel quips in from the other side of the main hall, "and that's without even disclosing who the father even is."

"Odd," Jaskier says, looking at your daughter, "all these traits and I can't even pick out which ones belong to her mother. Ooh, wait...she's got her nose. I think she has her ears too, which coincidentally look like my ears too."

"They look better on (y/n)," Geralt mutters. "Oh, ha ha, very funny," Jaskier deadpans, "you know, Geralt, I think it's rather interesting that everything you couldn't stand about me, you always seem to like about my sister. I wonder why? What's she got that I don't?"

"Don't answer that!" Coen says to Lambert, who was about to make a rather crude answer.

Jaskier frowned then grimaced when he finally figured out what the witcher was going to say, then he looks to Geralt, "so you and (y/n)...?" "Hmmm," was Geralt's only response. "And you're perfectly okay taking care of another man's baby?" "Oi, baby's daddy ain't in the picture," Lambert points out, "far as anyone in this keep is concerned, Geralt here IS Aemma's father." "Whatever happened to finding out who the father was?" Geralt asks.

"Don't care anymore," Coen answers with a shrug, "she's one of us, that's all that matters. We've come to accept that."

"Man was probably a piece of shit anyway," Lambert adds, "why else would (y/n) leave him?"

"Where is (y/n), anyway?" Eskel asks.

"Down in the village with Ciri, running errands," Geralt answer, "Ciri wanted to get out of Kaer Morhen after being cooped up in here most of winter, and (y/n) wanted some fresh air."

"That's right, the snow is thawing now," Coen says, "We'll be able to get back on the Path soon."

"About fucking time," Lambert groans, "it'll be nice to get out of this ice box for the first time in months."

--------------meanwhile-------------------

"You're in luck," the herbalist said handing you the herbs you were looking for, "this is the last of it. Next time I'll have these won't be until the snow thaws completely."

"This will do," you nod. "Strange," the woman says, "usually my clientele who come for these certain herbs are witchers." "I'm running errands for them," you tell her, "they've been taking care of me in my time of need and I thought I could return the favor.

"You've been wintering with the wolves?" the herbalist sounded surprised, "you are quite a brave young woman to have ventured this far into their terrain. But they are good lads. Which reminds me."

She hands you a special package, "A gift for Vesemir. Tell him, ol' Jenny sends her regards."

The look on her face suggested she and the old witcher had a thing between them, "I'll be sure to relay the message," you say, accepting the package.

You walk outside to go find Ciri, whom you'd given coin to buy her a little something at the pastry shop while you picked up the herbs.

You check your pouch to see there were a few extra coins left. Perhaps you could find the local tailor for some new clothes, for you, Ciri, and Aemma too.

While heading in that direction, you pass the pub and hear several locals talking.

"Didn't you hear about these strange happenings in the West?" one man asks. "What happenings?" the other asks, downing what was left of his mug.

"Is this about Nilfgaard?" the third man asks.

"Thought so too," the first man speaks, "but this was something different altogether. People be saying there is a dragon that was spotted near the border between Kaedwen and Redania. Burned through the forests and anything that stood in its way. Gods help us."

"Sounds like you've had way too much vodka," the second man scoffs.

"I'm serious," the first man scoffs, "Me cousin saw it flying the sky. A giant, red dragon, slender as a serpent. Some even swear they saw a man astride it on a saddle like a stallion."

The moment you heard those words, your eyes widen, your heart starting to race.

HE'S here? you internally scream.

On the Continent?

No, you shake your head, it couldn't be. That's not possible, there's no way he could've found out.

You made sure he would never find out.

"If it's any consolation," the first man says, "a unit of Scoia'tel was caught in the onslaught. Fucking elves probably thought they could take on the dragon. What a crock."

"Good riddance," the third man raises his mugs, "Shows those pointy hatemongers not to mess with the natural order of things."

You turn and go find Ciri, panicking as you did so.

You were so wrapped in your own paranoid thoughts, you didn't see Ciri as you ran into her.

"(y/n)?" she looks up to you, concerned as she saw the way your breaths were becoming shallow. "Huh? Oh, Ciri, there you are," you say, pulling her in with hopes it would calm you down.

"Are you okay, you look like you saw a ghost," she says, pointing the pale look on your face.

"I uh, I'm fine," you tell her, turning a bit to take in some deep breaths, "uh, did you get anything at the shop?"

"A couple apple turnovers," Ciri says, "I got one for you."

"Thanks," you say, "Look, I think we should head back to the keep. Come on."

You and Ciri walk into the woods back to Kaer Morhen.

You were about to forget what was said back in the village, when you hear an eerie and vaguely high pitch screech reverberate across the woods.

Your heart stops at this moment.

"What...what was that?" Ciri asks, becoming just as concerned, "Was it a wyvren? Or a forktail?"

"...neither," you say the moment you heard those same screeches once more.

You feel your heart get caught in your throat as your breath becomes shallow once again.

"(y/n)?" Ciri sees your state, starting to panic, "What...what's going on? What is it?"

A large, slender creature swoops in over the trees, making both of you flinch. "What was that?!" Ciri exclaims.

"Run," was all you could say. "What?" "Run, Ciri! We need to run!" you shout, getting her running as fast as the both of you could back to the heart of the mountains, back to Kaer Morhen.

You jump over a giant root, but end up tripping, your foot getting caught in the same root.

Ciri turns to see you had fallen.

"(y/n)!" she runs back to you.

"Ciri, no!" you shout back, "go without me! Get back to Kaer Morhen!"

"I'm not leaving without you, I promised Geralt I'd protect you!" Ciri insists, trying to pull your foot out.

It was too late.

The red monster swooped in again, landing a mere yard or two from where you lay. The force of the landing caused Ciri to be pushed back.

The young girl looked up and saw exactly what it was. Her eyes widen when she realized this was the red dragon she had dreamed of.

And if this was the same dragon, then that means...

Right on cue, an armored man in the dragonesque helmet dismounted the beast as you struggle to get your foot out.

The man removes his helmet to reveal his long, silver blonde hair.

In this moment, it felt like time had stopped, and not in a good way.

Your worse fears have been realized.

"Daemon..."

Chapter 10

Masterlist

#geralt of rivia #jaskier #geralt #witcher geralt #ciri #lambert #eskel #daemon #daemon targeryen x reader #geralt x reader #hotd #the witcher #otto hightower

24 notes · View notes

the-s1lly-corner · 6 months

Text

TADC X READER REQUESTS + RULES!

a modified list of rules for requesting for TADC! for the most part its the same as the original post, but with some important modifications! The inbox part is especially important as I will likely close and reopen requests several times depending on how many are sent in! While I did have loads of fun doing all the requests last week it was very overwhelming and extremely taxing on my mental and physical health <\3

That said, yahoo, I'm back!! Not sure how active I'll be today (11/4), since I'll be spending a lot of the day drawing and prepping for tonights dinner. But !!!

How to request!

sending in a request is simple! you can go into my inbox and send in the character(s) you want! you can describe what kind of reader you want, as well as put in any scenario you want! If you are unsure on whether or not my requests are open, you can refer to my bio, which i keep up to date with of the request status! What all you can request will be detailed below!

What you can request/What I will write!

Please note that if you send in a request while they are closed it will not be answered**, so its best to hold on to your requests until theyre opened or to find another blog !!

**anything sent in while requests are closed will not be answered even after they were reopened; otherwise there wouldn't. Really be much of a point of the open/close system, yk?

you can request most anything so long as it is not listed in the will not write section! if anything slips by and makes me uncomfortable i will let you know!

romantic, platonic, and familial hcs are all welcome here!

the reader is GN by default, you can request a gender if you want, however due to the style of my writing it wont make much of a difference

you can request anyone from the entire TADC cast (save for bubble and Kaufmo), however i will note that occasionally some characters will be left out of full cast lists due to the admin not having any worthwhile ideas for a character. this is less of a "dont request certain characters/less characters" and more of a "hey this is headsup and this is a case by case thing but overall i do do the entire cast"

readers that are similar to existing characters! just a headsup that if i dont know the character i will rely on a character wiki or a friend who knows about the character! So theres a solid chance I may do a disservice to the character in question, heed this warning (/lh)

im also down for character x character! again if the ship makes me uncomfortable i will let you know so you dont have to wait on a request/can move on to a different blog to answer for you,,, should note I rarely do character x character so quality on these will be especially shotty

What you cant request/What I will not write!

no NSFW or kink related asks, please. this blog is SFW, anything that is NSFW or kink-adjacent will immediately be denied

no yandere. while i do write for jealous partners and readers, full yandere stuff is where i draw the line as i am not personally comfortable with the trope/the romance stuff surrounding it

general no no stuff (ab^se of any kind, active** SH, ect ect)

SH is allowed so long as its about healed wounds rather than the act itself being written

Other!

full fanfics and oneshots

I have the right to deny any request for any reason, be it discomfort or feeling underqualified to write about a certain topic. It is nothing against you, there are some requests I simply may not be able to complete. I urge that you respect that and to not push me to answer a request I have already denied

please do not spam or try to push me to answer your request sooner, i tend to answer requests in the order they have been sent; so while it may look like im answering a bunch of people and ignoring you, it is likely not the case! as well as this, sometimes tumblr eats stuff so sometimes it could also be that and i am unaware that you have requested something

my posts tend to be a short paragraph per character or a list of bullet point hcs, i am not at all confident in my skills of writing actual. fanfics, so uh uh .. yeah

#tadc x reader #the amazing digital circus x reader #digital circus x reader #caine x reader #pomni x reader #jax x reader #ragatha x reader #kinger x reader #zooble x reader #gangle x reader

32 notes · View notes

hay1ock · 7 months

Text

Happy fucking birthday, indeed. Only Friends Episode 6 was absolutely insane. And I loved it.

So, what did we learn from this episode? That’s right, don’t get LASIK.

Like, if Mew hadn’t agreed, Top wouldn’t have bumped into Sand, wouldn’t have pissed off Sand, who then wouldn’t have… etc etc.

But lucky for us they did, because this episode was hella entertaining.

What follows is nonsense, my descent into insanity as I ramble myself in circles, go off at many a tangent and fail to keep my thoughts in any sort of order 😵‍💫

So, Top and Mew. Just when I actually started to like them as a couple shit hits the fan. Them by the pool just hanging around discussing Mew’s mums was the first time I felt as if I could get on board their relationship. I mentioned before how their scenes always left me feeling anxious. There was always this push and pull, a sense of doom, and, I don’t know if sleazy is the right word, maybe, I don’t know, but they left me feeling a little bit icky - I think it was the giving up drugs for sexual favours scene that really got me.

The main problem with the relationship for me has always been Top, and to be honest, his interactions with others this episode still left me uneasy and ready to jump back off the TopMew ship. The way he acts makes me feel like he’s treating Mew like a possession, I talked about it in previous episodes but I felt it again here, both in his conversation with Sand and then during Ray’s confrontation and how he wrapped his arm around Mew as if in ownership, that he’d ‘won’ a prize. He certainly plays up to what you’d think a rich hotel owner’s asshole son should be at times.

Now I can’t decide if Mew is just as bad in terms of being control driven - he has his list, which I don’t think there’s anything wrong with. I mean a non-drug user would probably rank kinda high on my list too. Top is definitely changing himself but it feels like there’s always something Top gets out of it. Giving up drugs = sexual activity, No sleeping around = a relationship and eventually Mew’s virginity. I don’t know. I mean they’re not exactly big asks of anyone looking to be in a 2 person, exclusive relationship. Top is just overtly possessive, at least to me as the audience and I guess to Ray at times. BUT THEN, he can be incredibly sweet around Mew like the notebook of drawings was a really lovely and personal present, and the way he was looking after Mew after his LASIK… it’s just… there’s something about him that irks me, even trying to forget the additional stuff we know about him and Boston, he makes me uneasy.

And now that ending scene between these two we have THE reveal and the lead up to it. I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way Mew seduced Top and lulled him into this vulnerable state to then bring out the recording. Book was great as Mew here. You can feel his building frustration, at first to get Top to tell the truth, then how he started thinking it was a plan to make a fool of him, to him feeling he isn’t good enough for someone like Top - the supposed top-tier.

But, Top? I can not believe he was still trying to hide the truth about his recent encounter with Boston, at first only referring to the fact they had hooked up before ever knowing Mew. I genuinely believe he loves Mew, maybe he thought he could salvage things by not confessing. Despite my feelings about Top I do have some sympathy for him. He fucked up, he told Boston it had been a mistake. I do feel like he was trying to be a better person since then. I don’t know what would have happened if he’d confessed sooner. I’m still annoyed at him for wrongly getting on his high horse over Ray and Mew, and instead of talking to Mew somehow saw a kind of ‘revenge’ sex as the appropriate reaction, but yeah, I’m a little bit sympathetic. A little. I don’t know how things will go from here on. Can there be a future for them? And how will Top cope with his sleep issues if he’s back to being alone?

Next up Nick. Well he finally got himself a photo. Probably because it was from a day out not a post-sex selfie. There wasn’t much story-wise that was just about him, but he certainly had his moments with Boston. In isolation, not gonna lie, they’re kind of good together like the scene on the pier. That moment though with Gap showing up. The hypocrisy from Boston about videoing people without consent, literally moments after Nick had just called him out for recording Ray and Mew, and also outing Ray loving Mew…💀

Despite what Boston and his dad discussed in front of Nick, he seems to keep falling for Boston’s sweet words and intimate touches. Nick’s no angel, but I feel really bad for him. He just keeps getting pulled back in. I don’t know if he still had any intention to use the recording with Boston’s focus seeming to be solely on him at the moment. He had been getting Boston’s undivided attention, or at least Nick and we assume so. I don’t think it’ll take Boston too long to get to the bottom of things when Top tells him about Mew having the evidence, especially considering Top knows that Nick knows about him and Boston hooking up, and saw Nick and Sand together at the apartments, throw in Boston knowing about Ray and Sand, that Ray confronted him, and then his outburst alluding to it in the bar, and the chain is complete. It’s going to hurt.

And so onto Boston. Was nice to get to know a bit more about him and his dad, well I say nice, but Boston definitely had a ‘look’ on his face when his dad kind of brushed off his love of photography (almost made me feel for him lol - no but it must be hard to have something you love poo-pooed), and it did feel like he was trying to make his dad ‘proud’ of the fact he’s playing the field and not settling down. I guess I understand (Understand Boston? What am I saying lol) where he’s coming from in terms of not getting attached to anyone if his intentions are to go to New York, which I think for arty, photography stuff would probably be a good fit. But, the way his words work on Nick and some of the moments he shares with him, I do wonder if deep down he would like something more significant than a bunch of fwbs and fuck buddies. He’s jealous his friends are moving on. Maybe not Mew so much as he had his ‘innocent’ virgin status, but from Ray’s speech it sure sounded like Boston told him a lot about his conquests, whether that was to rub them in Ray’s face for some reason, or he thought he had himself a ‘slutty brother in arms’? Who knows.

When Ray came to confront Boston, Boston sure managed to turn that conversation around quickly. He’d been casting glances at Ray all day as Ray seemed continually over everything going on within the friends group. When they clashed again he was able to twist things and make Ray doubt himself. And while I’m sure deep down Ray would love to be Mew’s knight in shining armour and them ride off into the sunset in love, I’m pretty sure he knows that will never happen. But Boston poked at him, put that doubt in his mind at how his intentions would be viewed - that he would be accused of doing it to get Mew, that he would be as ‘evil’ and be the one destroying Mew’s happiness. Boston is definitely clever with words. I’m looking forward to seeing him kicked into the pool next episode.

And now for Sand and Ray. Sand really showed he has a greyer side to the straightforward, work hard for everything guy we’d gotten used to the last few episodes. Top really got to him, lauding over him that he’d ‘changed’ and got himself his new man, the fact he could get anyone he wanted, ie Sand’s ex. I can’t imagine a guy stealing your lover and in no more than 3 months (based on what we know of Top’s longest relationship) he��s already moved on from that person… I’d be furious and wondering what the hell was the point of all the heartbreak? Honestly, having seen the trailer, breaking his phone to get his hands on Boston and Top’s audio was no where on my list of reasons for Sand stamping on his phone lol. But that was a pretty smart idea. Not sure what Nick noticed on his phone afterwards, maybe the lack of a phone call, or something to do with the method Sand sent himself the audio file. But I don’t think it’ll take him too much to figure out what Sand did when he learns of what’s gone on beyond Ray’s outburst.

I’m sure Sand thought it was an amazing idea handing the file over to Ray. He certainly lit the fuse on the powder keg that is Ray. Him saying about how great it is Mew has Ray at his side? - manipulation skill unlocked lol. I don’t know what he thought would happen or if there was anything more to it than getting back at Top but I’d like to think he wasn’t trying to get back at Ray for liking Mew by making him the bad guy. At the very least, it seemed Ray getting on that mic and making a huge scene was not quite how he’d seen it going.

Going back to Sand meeting with Ray. I felt so bad for Ray. It really felt as if he’d turned up with hopes he and Sand could maybe have a conversation about Mew, maybe even about the two of them. Instead, he was shut down not once but twice more by Sand saying he was fine with Ray liking Mew, echoing the same sentiments Sand had shared on the night things kicked off with Boston that it’s ‘nothing to do with him’.

Was it just me who thought Ray wrapping his hand around the cue ball was damn hot? 🫠 Honestly, the choice of fingers he wears his rings on too, I just… ahem. Anyway, what was I saying? Yeah, him grabbing the ball and basically telling Sand to get to the point was seriously a moment. I’m not 100% sure how he felt about Sand’s words after that, whether he felt as manipulated as Sand’s little side-eye suggested he was being, but clearly at the end of the evening Ray was absolutely done with everybody at that party. And to be fair, I kind of agree. (Also, I’m going to assume Sand renamed the file to Top & Boston - as much as I’d like to assume he knows Boston’s moans cos I’m a NeoKhao getting out the friendzone even just once enthusiast. I’d give him assuming the other voice is Top as Sand said it concerns Mew lol)

And so, we reach the party. The awkward conversation at the table had me like 💀Cheum has always been vocal in her praise of Top - I think I said on episode one about how Top had probably been viewed as this top tier prize to win/be fucked by, and Mew had likely been a breath of fresh air - honestly, I felt a bit bad for April the way Cheum was so besotted with the awesomeness that is Top lol, and then we shift to thanking God Boston, and then apparently forgetting Ray existed for a moment as she got excited everybody was paired off with someone. Even Boston. Also, this friends group need to have better nicknames for each other, what with Ray the Burden and now Boston the Heartless Slut. I know people call each other all sorts when they’re friends, even seemingly offensive names, but sometimes people need to read the room lol. It seems anything but playful banter at times. Following being forgotten, we then have April pointing out Ray is in fact single. I was sat here thinking, please stop poking at him. It was only adding to the tension and left me wondering at what point Ray would actually snap. Even without the added knowledge of Boston and Top, if I was Ray I’d have been seriously considering if it was time to find some new friends, preferable ones that enjoyed activities away from places that serve alcohol. Because no sooner has Ray been pointed out to be a loveless loser, we have Mew opening their conversation in the bathroom by asking if he’s drunk already.

I know Mew cares about Ray, asks him to stop drinking and doing drugs, and there’s only so much Mew or anyone else can do if Ray isn’t ready to help himself or accept help from others, but I don’t know, people expect him to be drunk, to be a burden, and I just feel like there comes a point where Ray, or anybody else, would just give up and act as expected.

(Possibly triggering stuff ahead as I refer back to episode 4)

Focusing on the conversation between them. It felt very ‘final’ and echoed a similar weight to it as the scene of Ray in the bathtub. The thanking him for being his friend, the hug. It might not have been so much the same thoughts right then as we’d had at the start of episode 4, but I think he probably believed somewhat in what Boston had said, he would be the bad guy, people would only view his intentions through the lens of him loving Mew and trying to split up Top and Mew, and in turn Ray loses Mew completely. So it really did feel like a goodbye. I don’t know if Mew got those vibes too, like he felt uneasy and that’s why he insisted Ray shouldn’t drive home, that he was worried about him, but for me there was this heaviness surrounding Ray.

We now know that Ray changed his mind and told Mew the truth about Top and Boston. He knew Mew might not like it and see his intentions in a bad light, but I’m glad he went through with it in the end. As he said later, no one else was saying a damn thing. I see people hung up on Ray being jealous, but I feel above everything else it is about Mew’s, and only Mew’s, happiness. When it comes down to it he’d rather tell him and risk being the villain, so long as Mew is okay. And so we shift to Ray taking the mic. I interpret him doing this out of a mix of things - frustration that even well into the night (despite Mew’s noticeable shift in mood when we catch sight of him again) everybody was singing and dancing as if everything was perfect, and to me, I feel like he was mad Mew hadn’t acted, not mad at Mew though, mad for Mew. That the person he cherishes the most seemed to have let Top and Boston’s behaviour slide, seemed to be accepting it when in Ray’s eyes he deserves so much more. And so fueled with alcohol, disappointed in almost everyone, he hit self destruct on each and every one of his relationships.

I enjoyed Khaotung’s performance and delivery. It hurt to see Ray that way, that look after being hit by the only person he considered to have shown him any care, and as he scanned the crowd, saw how everyone was looking at him. I feel like Mew punched him for a few reasons. Sure he might have had a plan for Top, he also seems someone to like order, have control and Ray was taking that from him, but I also like to think he was trying to stop Ray from going too far, snap him out of his tirade. If he got into an actual fight with someone like Top whose family are rich and the fact Top hates Ray, I could see Top pressing charges. I feel like Mew was in part saving Ray from himself and from saying or doing anything that he couldn’t take back, or might reap serious consequences.

I do, however, support Ray calling out everyone’s bullshit (plus it’s a tv show so it’s damn entertaining lol), even Sand. Their relationship started as a transaction and all he’s heard from Sand recently is they are nothing to each other. The moment outside by the car, I feel that if Sand hadn’t yet again denied they were anything to each other, Ray may well have stayed. Instead, his expression drops and he pushes him away, calls him a whore. Sand had ‘whored’ out his time, that’s how they had started, and Ray maybe assumes that’s all they had ever been. So, having burdened his friends once more, severed his connections to them, I don’t think Ray cared what happened to him after getting in that car and driving away. Luckily Sand did, motivated by caring for Ray, for anyone that could be caught in the fallout, and of course by his own guilt for putting Ray on this path in the first place.

I can’t wait for the next episode.

Oh my goodness. If you read all of that you’re a real trooper lol. I swear I start these the night of the episode and yet I’m still adding extra ramblings all through the week lol. I do enjoy it though. It’s kind of therapeutic to just get it all out. Stress relief 😆

Previous ramblings.

Episode 5 | Episode 4 | Episode 3 | Episode 2 | Episode 1

#only friends series #only friends the series #only friends episode 6 #only friends ep6 #firstkhaotung #sandray #forcebook #topmew #neomark #bostonnick #firstkhao #Ray deserves the world #and love and therapy #and better friends

40 notes · View notes

grigori77 · 1 year

Text

So, about Critical Role’s statement on the new WOTC OGL ...

I know, I know, it LOOKS LIKE they’re trying to hedge their bets, that they’re trying to appease the evil empire (WOTC) while also trying not to alienate their fans, and perhaps there’s even a fraction of truth in this point, but ... REMEMBER FOLKS, THESE GUYS ARE NOT JUST A BUNCH OF FRIENDS PLAYING A FRIENDLY GAME OF D&D ANYMORE. They’ve built up a real business based around what they’ve been doing, and this is something they need to protect. If it was just about THEM, about the game and the webcast at Geek & Sundry, you know they’d cut ties in a heartbeat, going back to using Pathfinder like they started out with before the release of 5E. But there’s so much more to it for them now.

They’ve got The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon (there’s a reason there are subtle differences between what’s happening in the show, from powers to races to the names of the gods themselves, compared to the original Campaign 1 liveplay, and thwat’s so they can get around the copyright issues in order to make the series IN THE FIRST PLACE). They’ve got all of the offshoot merchandise, which people have to make, and a series of tie-in expansion books and games - sure, some of them have been published by Darrington Press, but there are others which were specifically made by WOTC themselves, which means their contents are trapped FRONT AND CENTRE under the conditions of the new OGL). MOST OF ALL, though, they’ve got the show itself, hell, they’ve got the ENTIRE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY of Critical Role itself, which isn’t just run by them - they employ HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE, from their crew to evrybody working on the periphery, right down to all the jobs that were created just to help them make and distribute their tie-in games and merchandise. That’s a hell of a consideration.

If they piss off WOTC by coming right out and saying what I’m sure they REALLY WANT TO about this, that could put them in a really bad position given that D&D Byond is one of their major sponsors, they’re using the 5E platform and intelectual materials to put this together in the first place, and some key parts of their own material are now, thanks to this new OGL, technically THE INTELECTUAL PROPERTY of WOTC now too. They can’t just drop D&D Beyond as a sponsor and wash their hands, they’re pretty STUCK right now.

So yeah, they’re being cautious about what they’re actually saying here, so it sounds like they’re trying to appease BOTH SIDES of the argument. Because they REALLY ARE. They have NO CHOICE. It’s clear enough if you actually PAY ATTENTION and read between the lines here that what they’re saying to WOTC is purely to put them at ease, there’s birtually no real SINCERITY in their words, but when they’re talking to the community at large, the ones who are being GENUINELY HURT by this new situation, they’re thoroughly commiserating with them, entirely trying to prop them up, their sincerity HERE is COMPLETELY REAL. They love us, they’ve made it abundently clear OVER AND OVER AGAIN already, and they don’t want to fuck us over about this.

Look at it this way - look at this in eighteen or so months’ time, when the current campaign comes to an end and they have cart blanche to do whatever they want when it comes to Campaign 4. If you ask me, they’ll jump ship entirely, go to one of the other gameplay systems or even create their own (they might even do it SOONER if Matt can come up with something himself while Campaign 3′s still happening), and when they come back to Exandria (or maybe even a completely new setting, which I think MIGHT BE more likely, even if it does mean saying goodbye to the possibility of tying in with the previous campaigns going forward) there will be some MAJOR SHAKE-UPS where they no longer have to pay ANY lip-service at all to WOTC’s properties. Hell, if there’s any way they can use a little legal grease to try and wrangle Exandria and Stuff out from under WOTC’s grip while they’re at it I’ve no doubt they’ll try, although I’m a good deal LESS confident about THAT.

Just remember, these guys are on OUR SIDE. They’re in a really impossible situation right now, and they have NO IDEA how this is actually going to turn out so they are JUST AS SCARED AS US right now, but they’ve got A WHOLE LOT to lose if it all goes proper south on ‘em. So just think about THAT before you start badmouthing Matt, Marisha, Travis, Laura, Ashley, Taliesin, Liam and Sam about trying to play the middle or delivering a “milquetoast” statement. This really is THE BEST they can do right now ...

#critical role #WOTC OGL #be nice people

89 notes · View notes

isagrimorie · 1 year

Text

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Bells Hells is a group consisting of members who aren't born/grew-up rich or have some nobility in them?

(Fearne is the exception but that also comes with caveats).

Vox Machina had a lot of nobility or heirs in their group, and Mighty Nein had Jester and Beau.

Bells Hells are mostly cast-offs and outcasts with Fearne as the exception who grew up loved and not wanting anything. Ashton probably has some lineage to some kind of nobility but even then Ashton grew up in a group home.

None of the Bells Hells are pre-built connected with strong political organizations like members of Vox Machina and Mighty Nein. So the Bells Hells can't ask for help in the situation they're in right now.

They don't really have homes in the Material Plane either, the Mighty Nein at least can stop by the Lavish Chateau from time to time.

They could theoretically stay in Ligament Manor but other than Fearne none of them are comfortable staying long, they're all aware that a Hag, especially an Arch-Hag will ask for a price sooner rather than later.

I'm thinking about this because now the Bells Hells are on the run from the Unseelie Court, which we've been told is relentless and who have memories longer than time.

Otahan Thull will also be on the lookout for them now, and if word reaches Ludinus's ears about the destruction of the Fey Realm Malleus Key... his organizations would have a standing order to hunt for Bells Hells too.

They have their flying ship but really, what else do they have? Also, they have so few magical items. I don't know if it's the same with the previous campaigns but it feels like this go-around Bells Hells are less proactive in getting magical items or armor.

BUT THEY NEED IT, DAMMIT.

Especially now that every powerful organization and person on the shady side is after them!

Bells Hells are so goal-oriented and they do get stuff done, they're always punching above their weight class but their escape plans are always falling apart.

AND IT IS STRESSING ME OUT.

I need the Bells Hells to either get more powerful allies they're willing to use more (Keyleth and the rest of Vox Machina are out since the players aren't into the idea of relying on VM despite Vex inviting them to do so) or GET MORE MAGICAL ITEMS THAT CAN PROTECT Y'ALL OR TELEPORT Y'ALL OUT OF SCARY SITUATIONS!

#critical role #my kids #bells hells #cr 3x47 #laudna #imogen temult #ashton greymoore #fearne calloway #orym of the air ashari #chetney pock o'pea #critical role spoilers #thinky thoughts

101 notes · View notes

voxofthevoid · 1 year

Note

your thoughts on the other (popular) yuuji pairings? 👀

How many hours do you have 👀

I love too many Yuuji ships for my own good, honestly. But I'm not much of a multishipper, so everything else comes secondary to goyuu. Buuuut JJK is also the first fandom for which I've liked multiple ships enough to try and write more than just my OTP, so it's safe to say I like these Yuuji ships a hell of a lot.

Putting it under a cut because concision and I are arch-enemies. Also, I don't want to clog up the ship tags with my ramblings, so before you click through, know that this talks about nanayuu, chosoita, itafushi, and sukuita.

Caveat that I've read very, very few JJK fics, so I'll be talking mostly in relation to canon and my own writing.

Here goes, in order of adoration:

Nanami/Yuuji

Their canon dynamic is so good; I love how Yuuji's exuberance contrasts with Nanami's reticence, and more than that, I love how they're both intrinsically kind in a really similar way, even if Nanami's version has been tempered by the harsh realities of their world. Plus, it never gets old just how much Nanami lets Yuuji get away with—I mean, Nanamin, seriously. He protests once and then goes "well, guess I'm Nanamin now." Amazing. Predictably, Shibuya did unholy things to my poor heart. When the "You've got it from here" scene gets animated, I will lose my entire goddamn mind.

That said, I started out liking them platonically, but well, other than vertical incest, there's no relationship dynamic that's safe from my gremlin hands, so I wound up shipping them sooner than later. Specifically, I wrote a goyuu fic with a heavy focus on platonic Nanami&Yuuji and plummeted headfirst into shipping them, so now I've got like three different ideas that's a mix of nanayuu and goyuu. If I don't write at least one of them, someone should punch me.

Chōsō/Yuuji

Listen, brocon just comes very naturally when Chōsō is involved, and it doesn't help that sibling incest with fuckery potential has always lit up my brain (Sam/Dean from SPN, Vash/Knives from Trigun, etc.). What I like about their canon relationship is the...imbalance that's kind of there, especially at the beginning. Chōsō has family revelations after hallucinating one near-death-experience-induced (and Yuuji's NDE at that) picnic scene and is immediately ride or die, while Yuuji's just there going "???" He's treated complete strangers with more delicacy than he affords Chōsō when they're alone in Shibuya, which makes perfect sense given the circumstances and Yuuji's mental state at the time. And even once Yuuji seems to remember his "mum" and realize Chōsō is his brother, there's the distinct sense that Chōsō's attachment is a hell of a lot more intense and more explicitly connected to the blood relation, as opposed to Yuuji's usual warmth to an ally and friend. And that contrast of complete, immediate devotion and cautious, burgeoning affection makes me want to do unholy things to them both.

Which is why Chōsō is currently getting enthusiastically eaten and eaten out by Yuuji in my Word document. It's not even subtle as far as metaphors go.

Megumi/Yuuji

A friend described my thing for this as a "tiny, doting crush," and it's pretty accurate. Canon sells this pretty hard from the get-go, and something that struck me is that, a lot of the time when you have a shonen hero who's dragged into a new world, it's a female character, usually the future love interest/main heroine/first girl, that does it. In JJK, you have Megumi in that role—fun all over. Also, the narrative is highly consistent about highlighting both of their complicated feelings about their involvement in the other's current predicament. Their interactions are also interesting from the beginning, both the lighthearted moments and the heavier stuff. And the manga panel split between a freshly Sukunafied Megumi and a very horrified Yuuji remains one of my favorites.

Thing is, since canon feeds me pretty well in terms of this ship, I don't feel much of an urge to read or write it. I have one(1) idea that's a mix of goyuu+gofushi+itafushi+goitafushi (it's...complicated), but it's pretty low on the priority list.

Sukuna/Yuuji

I'll be frank: I want to like this ship a lot more than I actually do. And that's mostly because Sukuna is a bit hit-and-miss for me. There are parts in the story where I've loved him and parts where I wanted to step on his face—not in the fun way either. And ever since he took over Megumi, I've been in "step on his face" mode. Their canon relationship appeals to me mostly because Sukuna brings out a side of Yuuji that only Mahito has managed, and their scant interactions while sharing a mind and body were pretty interesting. The blend of hostility and humor was nice, and I kind of like that there's pretty much zero chance of it getting resolved like with, say, Kurama and Naruto.

Anyway, I do see a lot of potential in this ship for hate sex, except what I'd like to see is a very specific dynamic that I haven't been able to find—and one that's complicated enough that I'm not sure I could write it either. I might try some day, especially if inspiration strikes.

Thanks for asking, anon ❤

#i love my anons #anon #jjk

18 notes · View notes

noperopesaredope · 2 years

Text

SvtFoE Rhombulus Rewrite (Pt. 4)

You know the drill. Go to here if you don’t. So, this post is gonna be a bit different. I was working really hard on the Season 4 rewrite, but it was ridiculously long. At one point, it was twice as long as my previous posts, if not longer, and I was only about halfway through! This was because Season 4 will have the most changes from canon, as well as some new scenes and maybe even new episodes. Some episodes will go through major changes too. In order to get this part out sooner and also not rush myself among other things, I decided to split this post in half. So this post, Part 4 of the rewrite, will be the first half of my rewrite for Season 4 (not including the final few episodes since I have a special plan for those). I will post Part 5 of the rewrite when it’s finished, which might take a few days (though I’ve made a lot of progress on it). So I hope you like this and sorry for the wait. Warning: Super extra long since I am going to add in some new episodes and rewrite other ones completely.

Season 4 (Part 1):

- We start off not during “Swim Suit”, but earlier in the season, because Rhombulus is getting his arc this season and I am promoting him to major character. He isn’t quite gonna be a part of Star’s main friendgroup, but he is going to play a more important role in the story and, as I said, he is having an arc (unlike most people here).

- I will ignore episode constraints and maybe even pretend to take out stuff involving shipping drama in order to throw in the actually important/interesting stuff. Rhombulus needs more screen time and this is his season to really grow, and I will make that happen, no matter how many shippers I have to kill to do it.

- Also, one final thing is that Hekapoo probably won’t be getting her whole poorly done “redemption” in this rewrite. One reason can be summed up in this video, while the other can be briefly explained as: the writers probably only redeemed her because she is a fan favorite and not because it is in character for her. Also, they definitely switched out Rhombulus and Hekapoo’s roles in the story. I am simply switching them back.

- It doesn’t mean that I don’t like Hekapoo or that I’m gonna be completely villainizing her and think that you should hate her. I just think that her role in the story is not the same as the role Rhombulus deserved. One of my endings does give the whole MHC a redemption arc though, so there’s that.

- Anyways, here we go.

- Rhombulus will make a short appearance in “Butterfly Follies” when he and Star accidently run into each other in the palace. Rhombulus is very awkward around Star, mainly due to the fact that they haven’t really had a proper talk since the trial, or even gotten to talk about the trial. Rhombulus is about to ask if he and Star can talk, but Star picks up on this pretty quickly and asks if they can talk sometime later.

- Rhombulus agrees, but first asks her if she can talk with Eclipsa about the whole “no imprisoning monsters” law. He’s not sure how to approach Eclipsa about it, but a lot of the people in his crystals are monsters, and he “can’t free all of them! There would be anarchy!” Star says she’ll try, and they part ways.

- The next episode he’s in is “Swim Suit”, which will be the same as before and yet very different, but mainly, very important. I might rename this one “Crystal Prism Prisoner” as well. The episode will not start out with Star prepping for beach day, as that can happen in another episode.

- Instead, it will start out with her getting ready to take a nap, when she is suddenly woken up by a panicked Eclipsa, who leads her to the room where Globgor is imprisoned. Inside is Rhombulus in hypnoslumber.

- Star also panics at this, and asks what happened. Eclipsa quickly explains that she tried asking him about maybe having him free Globgor, and he denied doing so, and they got into a small arguement. Then he started to leave out of frustration, and she panicked and cast hypnoslumber on him.

- Star, exasparated, tells Eclipsa to undo the spell so she can help them work things out. Eclipsa undoes the spell, and Rhombulus wakes up completely p*ssed off.

- He starts yelling at Eclipsa, saying that that was really messed up and that he thought things were okay between them, but Star cuts him off and says that he’s allowed to be mad, but they would be all better off if they worked things out.

- Rhombulus reluctantly agrees, and Star sits the two supposed adults down to work things out. It’s kinda like preschool. She makes sure Eclipsa says her side, then Rhombulus says his side. Star then asks what they might be able to do to fix this problem. Rhombulus childishly says that Eclipsa can find something better to do then harrass him about freeing Globgor, and they start arguing again.

- Rhombulus ends up saying a few legitimately hurtful things in a moment of frustration, and Eclipsa responds in turn with another spell. This starts a physical fight.

- Star has had a long week, and this isn’t helping. Completely fed up, she drags the two of them into a room in the castle, takes away the wand, locks both Eclipsa and Rhombulus in the room together, and tells them that they can work it out themselves and that they’re not gonna come out of that room until they sort things out. To reenforce this, she puts a spell on the whole room that makes sure they won’t get out any time soon.

- After a few minutes of silence, Eclipsa gets back into the Globgor thing, and this immediately frusturates Rhombulus. They start arguing again, and it eventually turns to whether or not Globgor is actually evil.

- Eclipsa finally shouts “YOU BARELY KNOW HIM! WHY DO YOU THINK HE’S SO EVIL?!”

- Rhombulus snaps back “Because I’ve seen what kind of person he is! The damage he’s done! I was there during his rampage right before I crystalized him! I’ve the ruins of the villages he’s destroyed!” He gets less angry and more sad and upset (and a little bit scared?). His voice gets softer and quieter as his eye starts to stare off, remembering things from hundreds of years ago.

- “I’ve met the soldiers who went to battles against him and didn’t come back. I’ve heard all the horror stories and eye witness accounts. I know that he took no prisoners. I’ve had to defend villages against his wrath. I’ve seen him fight. I’ve fought against him.” He wraps his arms and tails around himself. “It’s terrifying.”

- Eclipsa is slightly shocked that he would open up to her like this, and she isn’t sure how to react. She says that she’s sorry that he had to go through all that when he was still pretty young, and that she understands why Rhombulus wouldn’t want to free Globgor.

- But Eclipsa also finally decides to open up to Rhombulus about why she’s so desparate to free Globgor. She explains that she never felt like anyone ever really understood her as a person, but Globgor was someone who was always willing to listen. He changed and evolved as a person, going from violent and cruel to kind, loving, and well meaning.

- They grew together as people, and he was very important to her. So when she lost him, she didn’t know what to do with herself or how to move on. And now she’s in a whole new time period trying to be a good queen and raise a baby all at once. She begins to tear up, ending with “I don’t think I can do all this without him. I need him.”

- This strikes a cord in Rhombulus, as he remembers losing Lekmet, the grief he felt, and the grief he still feels.

- Eclipsa says that this is the last time she’ll ask, and if he says no, she won’t bring it up again, but she just wants to ask one last time if he will free Globgor.

- Rhombulus becomes very indecisive. After a few moments of thinking very hard, he finally says “I’ll...think about it.” Eclipsa says that that’s all she needs, and Rhombulus, head full of thoughts, leaves.

- He runs into Star, who was waiting outside, and she smiles at him knowingly. She says “sooooo, I’m assuming you guys worked things out?” Rhombulus says yes, and thanks her for her help. He then takes this chance to properly talk with her about the trial.

- He apologizes for lying and says he wants to make up for his past mistakes. Star says that while he and the MHC really messed up in the past, she’s glad that he revealed the truth and he’s clearly trying to make up for it. They agree to become friends again. End of the episode.

- I’ve decided to replace “Yada Yada Berries” with my own episode because it was very easy to add in the important bits and it was also very expendable. Sorry if you liked that episode. I don’t really care about it though. This new episode is called “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” because it fits and I’m basic.

- The first minute will be dedicated to introducing the idea of that episode, complete with the Eclipsa assasination attempt, but we won’t get to see the big mystery solving stuff. This episode is actually about Rhombulus and the MHC.

- Basically, the premise is that Rhombulus is still thinking about the thing with Globgor, and he decides to reach out to the rest of the MHC for advice. This will be used to help explore the different dynamics/relationships Rhombulus has with each member of his whole family.

- First is Hekapoo, who is the one he feels closest to (besides Lekmet but you know...), and she feels pretty close to him, despite their disagreements. Unfortunately, closeness does not prevent a lack of communication.

- In this scene, Rhombulus is clearly trying to talk with his older sister about the Globgor thing, but she keeps on accidentally brushing him off and ignoring what he’s trying to say. Hekapoo clearly cares a lot about him, but has a tendency to be dismissive of his feelings. She also sees him as a little kid (he kinda is, but his concerns should still be taken seriously), and ends up patronizing him.

- Eventually he slightly lashes out at her, saying that she always treats him like a little kid, and Hekapoo immediately gets annoyed, snapping back that outbursts like that are the exact reason she treats him the way she does. They start arguing, and eventually, Rhombulus shouts that he was going to ask her for some advice, but she’s clearly not going to be helpful to him, before he storms off.

- This conversation shows the tensions in their relationship, and a bit of how Rhombulus is ignored even by those closest to him.

- The next person Rhombulus goes to see is Omnitraxus. Rhombulus and Omni aren’t particularly close, but Rhombulus still kinda looks up to him, seeing his older brother as really cool and powerful, but also intimidating.

- There conversation is the shortest, as Omni is pretty dismissive of Rhombulus as well, but less in the way some might dismiss a little kid, and more him trying to redirect the conversation to more bureaucratic stuff.

- They basically have a very distant relationship. But this conversation does tell us a few small things about Omni. First off, he is the most formal, and prefers to focus in on things related to their jobs. He follows protocol and orders to a T, having full confidence that what he and the rest of the MHC are doing is right. This can clash with the others, as some are more focused on emotions and the like.

- Omni also isn’t really a huge bigot, as he doesn’t despise monsters the way some Mewmans do. After all, in the Magic Book Of Spells, he does sometimes advocate for peace. He’s simply more…apathetic and neautral. Still racist, but not super extremist. Honestly, he does express that his main problem with Eclipsa is her use of Dark Magic and how she abandoned he duties.

- He will even say this to Rhombulus, stating that he doesn’t have a problem with monsters, he just wants to follow the system and keep the balance.

- Omni isn’t very helpful to Rhombulus, but the crystalhead doesn’t really say this, he just reluctantly leaves.

- Getting slightly frustrated, Rhombulus decides to visit someone he hasn’t seen in a long time: Reynaldo. This scene is...sad.

- There’s also a lot of pauses and silence in it. I might not even add much background noise. While the other scenes have more movement and white noise in them, this one won’t have much of that.

- Reynaldo and Rhombulus’ greetings to each other are slightly awkward, and as I said, there will be quite a few awkward pauses in the conversation. I’m not going to do rhymes for Reynaldo’s dialouge right now because I don’t feel like writing out that stuff right now.

- Reynaldo asks Rhombulus why he’s here, and Rhombulus says he needs some advice. Reynaldo asks him why he doesn’t just go to Lekmet about it. Rhombulus is quietly forced to admit that Lekmet passed away a few months ago.

- Reynaldo’s reaction is not said, and changes very quickly over the course of a couple of seconds, all done in one still shot, but it tells a bit of a story. He first looks shocked, freezing up with an almost blank expression on his face. Next comes an extreme wave of grief and sadness. He then looks almost angry. Nobody told him. He wasn’t even invited to the funeral.

- He looks almost as though he is ready to lash out, before he glances at Rhombulus for a second and looks sad again. Despite being the youngest, Rhombulus was arguably the closest to Lekmet, and it’s likely he was absolutely heartbroken about his death.

- Lekmet changes the subject by asking what Rhombulus wanted to talk to him about. Rhombulus chooses to be slightly vague, saying that he feels like he might have misjudged someone and really messed up someone else’s life and family by crystalizing certain people.

- He’s considering setting a person free, but he also is wondering if that will make things even worse, whether they deserve it or not. It’s almost like no matter what choice he makes, it will always be the wrong one, and he’ll always end up disappointing someone. Just like all the time. Maybe this is why he’s Glossaryck’s least favorite child.

- He starts getting a little self depricating, when he is suddenly wacked on the head by a paddle. Reynaldo tells him that that’s not true. Rhombulus argues “but Glossaryck-” but Reynaldo tells him that he shouldn’t let Glossaryck’s opinion shouldn’t determine his self worth. Rhombulus grumbles that Reynaldo cares about Glossaryck’s opinion of him, and before immediately regretting this and apologising.

- Reynaldo doesn’t have a response to this, and it’s quiet again for a few seconds as Reynaldo continues rowing down the river. Then he speaks up again and says that giving someone a chance couldn’t hurt, and if it turns out to be a mistake, he can always recrystalize the person later.

- Rhombulus thanks him, and Reynaldo drops him back off. Before Rhombulus leaves, Reynaldo asks him if he could visit again sometime, to at least tell him how it went. Rhombulus says yes to this.

- At the end of the day, Rhombulus really wants the rest of his family to take him seriously, and there’s a sense of loneliness to his character. I was going to add some other scenes to this episode besides the next one coming up, but the scene with Reynaldo honestly spoke more than the others could, and It’s my favorite in this episode.

- Rhombulus then decides to talk to Hekapoo and Omni again, and chooses to call a small meeting between the three of them. He’s about to pitch his idea, when one of the other two interrupts him and tells him they have something they need him to do.

- Hekapoo and Omni have a lot of duties they need to fulfill outside Mewni, and they might not be able to check in quite as often. This will leave Rhombulus as the only member of the MHC still in Mewni. That’s why they would like him to low key spy on Eclipsa for them. End of episode, probably. Unless I feel like extending this final scene. But I don’t right now. So yeah, end of episode.

- In this video by Sarcastic Chorus (at timestamp 8:12), he points out that part of the problem in the later season of Star Vs. is that basically almost all the Mewmans are unlikeable, one particular example being the family in “Down by the River”.

- I decided to remedy this by having the family in that episode not be annoying jerks and instead focus the episode less on some people annoying Moon and River, and more on the flaws in Eclipsa’s new policies. The Mewman family is actually pretty nice, and they start the village with Moon later on.

- But, though they weren’t originally particularly racist (at most, they were ignorant), the family’s experience being kicked out of their home did have an affect on them, and it’s implied that it’s caused them to slightly resent monsters. This makes them easy to radicalize.

- But enough about that.

- I’ve decided to add an episode between “Surviving the Spiderbites” and “Out of Business”. This full length episode will be important not only to the Rhombulus rewrite, but it will add more to Eclipsa and Globgor as well. This is because it is a bit of a flashback episode for both of them.

- The episode is called “What Remains of My Family” and is a flashback to a series of events; Meteora being switched out, Shastican being eaten, and Globgor/Eclipsa being crystalized. These events will be told from 3 POVs: Rhombulus, Eclipsa, and Globgor.

- But they will all be in the form of dream sequences. Or maybe not. I’d need to decide. But I think the dream sequence idea could capture some of the feelings of each event and the hazy POVs. It might be slightly like Beatrice’s dementia sequences from Bojack, in the fact that most of them are technically correct retellings, but also a bit twisted and exaggerated. It will also help us see how each of the characters view things the way they do.

- First, we start out with Rhombulus’ POV, and get to see LITTLE RHOMBULUS. He’s not super little, but clearly a bit more of a child, as he is only about 100 years old in this flashback. He physically and mentally about 7 years old in this. In Rhombulus’ version, he’ll seem a bit more mature, but still pretty young, and act a lot younger than usual. Because it was his POV, he views himself as more mature, but his actual actions say otherwise.

- Rhombulus is outside playing a game with a couple of figurines he made out of crystals. In his power set, he will have some mild control over the shape of the crystals, but he practices size rather than shape, so he doesn’t often make things out of his crystals anymore. Besides, he’s out of practice in the timeline of the show.

- In this episode though, he’s using his figurines to reenact his most recent battle, and it is very cute. At this point in time, Rhombulus has been fighting on the battlefield more than anyone else in the MHC, and never really had a proper childhood. He’s been exposed to the horrors of war, and isn’t completely innocent. But he still has some of that child-like wonder and playfulness.

- Despite the war, Little Rhombulus doesn’t completely understand the nuances of the Monster-Mewman conflict, and will have a very black-and-white view of the world. He also full trusts the adults around him, and only doubts them when it’s extremely obvious that something is wrong. But that doesn’t happen often, and his lack of understanding causes him to half the more impulsive opinions, such as “lets go to war.”

- Lekmet comes over to him and tells him that the MHC is having an important meeting about something. For the first time, we actually get a chance to understand what he is saying, which is through subtitles. Rhombulus quickly melts his crystal toys away and holds Lekmet’s hand. As the two walk towards the meeting room, Rhombulus tells Lekmet all about his day, and how he’s been practicing his crystallizing a lot lately. Lekmet congrats him on this and pats him on the head.

- They arrive at the meeting room, and sit with the others. Rhombulus is seated next to Hekapoo, who he whispers hi to, before asking if she knows what their meeting is about. She whispers back that she has no idea, but that she’s already bored, causing Rhombulus to giggle.

- Yet another sidenote: Because this is a dream and from Little Rhombulus’ perspective, everyone’s features are slightly exaggerated. Hekapoo’s hair is really long and fluffy, Lekmet’s wings are really big, Omni is even bigger than usual to the point that you can’t see his face, and Reynaldo’s neck is just, like, super long.

- Moving on, Shastican comes into the room and says that he has some news. Spies have managed to capture Eclipsa and Globgor’s newborn baby. The MHC are to do three things: 1) get rid of the baby (he doesn’t care how, just get it done), 2) find a replacement heir, and 3) erase any and all traces of the Monster-Mewman baby’s existence from the records.

- The MHC have a variety of reactions to this, but they all say “yes, your highness,” anyways. Immediately after Shastican leaves, Lekmet protests against doing something like this, but only Rhombulus understands him, and in those days, he sometimes forgot to translate. Rhombulus, who is completely confident in the king, tries his best to reassure the goat man that this is the right thing to do, but it doesn’t fully work.

- We cut to an extremely low angle shot (basically looking straight upwards) of the MHC looking down at something. Omni looks neutral, Reynaldo looks unsure, Hekapoo looks very conflicted, Lekmet looks sad, and Rhombulus just looks confused. We cut back up to see that they are standing over Meteora’s crib.

- Reynaldo asks everyone “are you sure we should do this?” and Omni answers with “well, the king ordered us to, so it seems we must.” They all then start discussing who should do what task, except for Rhombulus, who starts entertaining the baby. The adult discussion is slightly muffled in the background as Rhombulus is completely focused on the cute baby.

- Lekmet tells Rhombulus that they are about to leave, and Rhombulus follows him out the door, but not before looking back one last time.

- He slightly wonders what Meteora’s mama must be doing now that her baby’s missing, but pushes it out of his mind and goes into a training room to practice his magic.

- We then cut to Eclipsa’s POV (the changes in POV are indicated via zooming out of the eye of the new POV character). She are walking through the forest, and then we, the audience, get to meet Globgor here rather than in “The Monster and the Queen”, though this is admittedly a slightly romantisiced version of him since it’s from Eclipsa’s POV.

- Eclipsa expresses her concern for Meteora, but Globgor tries his best to reassure her, and it makes her feel slightly better. This smallish conversation is meant to show the audience Globgor’s more soft, caring side, and his more positive traits.

- It also shows a bit of why Eclipsa and Globgor work together so well as a couple. She encourages him to improve as a person and stands by him when he needs it, and clearly cares about him, and he in turn protects her and supports/encourages her, boosting her confidence when she starts to doubt her capabilities.

- The next scene is the two of them spying on the palace and forming a plan to rescue Meteora. This scene also shows them working together, as well as their respective skillsets in terms of planning and strategy.

- In both these scenes, they are clearly very much in love and a power couple and I love them so much together.

- They decide that basically, Globgor will be a distraction while Eclipsa will look around the castle for Meteora. They separate and put the plan into action.

- We then cut to Globgor’s POV, who sneaks into the palace to inact the plan. Globgor’s POV is the most accurate and least dreamlike, and he essentially reliving a memory. Of course, there will be a couple dreamlike, metophorical moments that show how he remembers it and the emotions he was feeling at the time. This is also the part where we see a bit how he sees himself and his internal thought process rather than what others see.

- He starts causing havoc and running around through the halls, and eventually arrives at the throne room, which he barges into. On the throne is Shastican.

- Globgor leaps over the guards and lands in front of Shastican, and with a fierce look on his face, demands to know where his daughter is. Shastican, quite cruelly and with venom in his voice, tells Globgor “I got rid of your little half-breed brat. She’s gone, and you’ll never see her again.”

- Globgor freezes in horror at this, and we see his world shatter around him as Shastican’s words echo around him. The artstyle slowly shifts into one made up of more abstract sketches, very mess and almost frantic. We can vaguely hear Shastican still talking in the background, but his voice is muffled and begins to get completely drowned out by a high pitched noise like a flatlined pulse.

- All color slowly becomes one violent shade of red, and Globgor’s twists into an angry snarl. We see him roar with fury as he pounces at Shastican and menacingly shouts “YOU’LL REGRET THAT!”

- Everything cuts to black, with only the sounds of Globgor’s carnage to be heard in the background.

- We cut back to Rhombulus’ POV, where he is running around the palace, earthquakes caused by Globgor’s stomps shaking everything every few seconds. The halls are dark and everything looks both too big and too small at the same time. As he runs, we flicker back and forth between the hallway and a battle before resettling on the hallway.

- Rhombulus runs into Hekapoo, and he asks her what’s going on. She tells him that Globgor is attacking the palace, before pausing in the middle of her explanation and staring at him with a contemplative look on her face. She tells him to come with her and that they have no time to waste.

- She leads the very confused Rhombulus to the Monster Temple, and they arrive to what is basically a hellscape. Rhombulus looks around in confusion and fear, before he sees it: a giant beast straight from a nightmare. This is how Rhombulus remembers seeing Globgor during his rampage.

- Other members of the MHC are fighting him, but he is getting close to winning. Lekmet flies over to where Rhombulus and Hekapoo are, and Hekapoo goes back out to fight Globgor. Lekmet turns to Rhombulus and tells him that he needs to crystallize Globgor. Rhombulus is unsure, but Lekmet encourages him, saying that they all believe in him, and he is the only one who can do it.

- This empowers Rhombulus, who walks in front of the still rampaging Globgor.

- We cut to Globgor’s POV, which is very hazy and confusing looking, but one figure becomes clear: a little crystalheaded monster type thing. Rhombulus looks much younger in Globgor’s POV, a lot like an innocent little kid with a determined look on his face. He starts flickering back and forth between himself and Meteora, but when he raises both arms and gets ready to fire, he suddenly looks like a shadowy, slightly evil looking figure. Rhombulus fires, crystals appear at the edge of Globgor’s vision, and we cut to black.

- We switch to Eclipsa’s POV, where she is searching through the deepest pits of the castle. A lot like in Rhombulus’ POV, the castle walls are eerie and nervewracking. She opens a door and steps inside another room, which has her wand inside. She grabs it and sighs with relief, when she suddenly feels a presense behind her. She turns around to see Hekapoo standing behind her, dual wielding scissors.

- Eclipsa points her wand at Hekapoo threateningly, and Hekapoo gets into a defensive stance in response. Hekapoo tells Eclipsa she should probably just give up, and reveals that Globgor ate Shastican and has been crystalized by Rhombulus. Eclipsa isn’t quite sure how to process this information, but she decides to suddenly blast one of the scissors out of Hekapoo’s hand and summons it towards herself. Eclipsa takes the scissors and quickly opens up a portal before Hekapoo can even react, and it closes behind her.

- Eclipsa arrives in Rhombulus’ dimension, and starts looking around for Globgor. She stumbles upon two paths, one which leads to crystalized POWs (it’s pretty practical: you don’t need to feed them, they can’t escape easily, they don’t age or really experience their imprisonment, so there’s no trauma or anything, etc.) and one which leads to “Really Bad Guys”. She sighs and goes down the bad guy route, and continues looking around.

- Then, she turns around to see Rhombulus standing behind her. He looks at lot younger in her POV in comparison to his own. “Rhombulus,” Eclipsa says as a greeting, though it isn’t friendly. She then says that he better tell her where Globgor is, or he will regret it.

- He says that Globgor was crystalized at the Monster Temple, but Eclipsa won’t be going back to him, because she has been declared guilty of crimes against Mewni and is sentenced to crystalization.

- Eclipsa says that she’d like to challenge that, and attacks. What ensues is an epic fight scene that shows off more of Eclipsa’s really cool fighting style and the variety of techniques Rhombulus uses to fight.

- Eclipsa’s moves are refined, elegant, almost as though she is gliding or even dancing. Her spells, on the other hand are much more dangerous and sharp. Everything is very strategic and focused more on precise but powerful blows.

- Rhombulus’ fighting style is surprisingly well tuned. Then again, he does have the most fighting experience out of the rest of the MHC, and part of his purpose is being strong and a fighter. His attacks are more blunt and broad, designed to land across a wide area. He also relies on the terrain, which makes sense since he can change the terrain. And in this AU, since he has two pretty long snake tails, he also partially crystalizes the ends of those, then using each a bit like a scorpion tail. The final major aspect of his fighting style is a mixture of defense and capture, using his bigger crystals to both defend himself and trap his enemy.

- The fight ends when Rhombulus manages to get a lucky hit on Eclipsa’s hand and knock it away from her before he quickly crystalizes it in mid air.

- Eclipsa stares defiantly at Rhombulus, and tells him that he and the rest of the MHC won’t get away with all this. Rhombulus doesn’t respond, and in one big, beautifully animated moment (that Tom Barkel will animate hopefully), he crystalizes her.

- There is a short, somewhat concluding scene for the flashbacks. It’s from Rhombulus’ POV in which he is looking at the ruins of Spiderbite Village and watching as some other members of the MHC help out the villagers. Lekmet walks up to Rhombulus and congratulates him on saving everyone. Rhombulus says he feels like he didn’t save anyone. Lekmet is quiet at this, before remembering something.

- Lekmet reminds Rhombulus that, as much as he hates it, they will have to keep the Meteora conspiracy a secret. Rhombulus looks reluctant to do this, but he says okay.

- The episode end with Rhombulus and Eclipsa waking up in the present time, revealing that the whole episode was a dream, though their reactions to said dream, reveal that it was also a memory, just a weird interpretation of the past. They both also tell themselves that all that is over, and they want to forget about it as soon as possible. But then we cut to the still imprisoned Globgor, whose eyes flash omniously. He will not forget, and he is still remembering. Cut to black.

~~~~

Aaaaaannnnd, that’s the end of Part 1 for Season 4! As said above, I had to cut these into parts, since the OG post was getting so long and I wanted to pace myself. Stay tuned for Part 2! Hoped you liked this one!

28 notes · View notes

rustbeltjessie · 2 years

Photo

Reckless Chants #26 is the first issue of Reckless Chants I've put together in nearly three years! It includes some of my pieces from my time as Racine Writer-in-Residence, as well as a couple of my columns which have appeared on Hello America, plus a bunch of brand-new stuff. Topics include: early forays into punk rock, teenage self-destruction, old friends, favorite bands, Jack Terricloth, abortion, Frida Kahlo, my favorite highway, Tony Fitzpatrick, pandemic feelings, an in-depth exploration of (my) gender identity/sexuality, road trips, nostalgia, and more. It's text-heavy, but also features a few of my original collages and photographs.

All preorders will come with a free copy of Our Blasted Ragtag Hillbilly Piss Circuit, my other new zine.

It will be approximately 68 pages long, give or take; I’ll have a more solid page count once I complete the layout. I should have it 100% finished and ready to ship by the end of June/beginning of July; the more preorders I get, the sooner I can finish and mail it.

* * *

It’s sliding-scale, starting at $8 (S+H included in that price, within the US). I realize $8 is a little steep for a zine, but hey, it’s gonna be nearly 70 pages long, or more, and that does include shipping. If you live outside the US and want to order a copy, please DM or email me first, and I’ll figure the shipping costs for you. And if you just wanna throw a few extra $$ my way, you can choose to pay more.

You can order it from my Ko-fi shop (a direct link can be found in my linktr.ee which is linktr.ee / rustbeltjessie with the spaces removed).

I also accept PayPal: [email protected] and Venmo: JessieLynnMcMains (just be sure you send me yr mailing address & specify that it’s for the RC 26 preorder).

#jessie lynn mcmains #reckless chants #zines #writers on tumblr #preorder #shameless self promotion #i'm posting this as a new post #rather than reblogging the old one #cuz the old one wasn't showing up in the tags #probably cuz of links

21 notes · View notes

thecandywrites · 10 months

Text

The Switch Chapter 14

The Order of Radiance

Woo, it's been a hot minute since my last update, took me 6 months to do Monster March. But I got through it and now it's back to my regularly scheduled stuff. Enjoy.

The Switch

Chapter 14

The next morning, you awoke with a start, right at dawn and immediately reached for your pen and latest journal to write as fast your hand could move across the page as your new pen barely kept the ink flowing freely enough to keep up with you.

Because while you had tried to shrug off the “altercation” with your former King and Queen. It had still bugged you and you felt like you were missing an obvious solution to the problem and after sleeping on it and even dreaming about it, you awoke with a solution.

You barely had it written down before you got out of bed to quickly relieve yourself and keep writing as you did so and barely had the lights dimly lit so you could go to your desk and keep expounding on the idea and before you knew it, you were using up all the ink in this pen. You tried to use your second and spare pen to trade out while the other hand refilled the ink reservoir as the other hand just kept writing- like a woman possessed, trying to get it all out and all down as it was like the most beautiful flower blooming in your mind as suddenly everything came together and with just a quick look at the bank note from Solowards- and the sale of the land that Saffiro had left behind, you beamed when you did some quick math and calculations right there in your notebook and then- like finally placing the last pieces of a puzzle together. Suddenly with only a new page, using your now- refilled pen, you drafted the first The Order of Radiance Lease Agreement and when you had finished the contract you took a few shaky breaths but stared at it and your face suddenly bloomed in a smile of relieved victory.

This was it.

This was how you were going to deal with them, this was the perfect solution. And how you were going to practically own them and every other unsavory royal you had ever encountered and ever would encounter. And this was how you were going to protect yourself, the Contessina Order, which from now on would be known as The Order of Radiance- using your official Dorierran given honorific title, so that future generations wouldn’t have to worry about distinguishing themselves from you on an individual level. And this would protect Salgria Shipping and every other person in the D.A. who would ever even think of landing on Solowardian Soil or even airspace for that matter.

And then like magic, once the flower seemed to fully bloom in your mind, another seemed to come into view and suddenly you were reaching for a stack of papers and suddenly you were writing as fast as you could, trying to get it all down and write with one hand and draft with the other, without really looking at what the other hand was drawing as you kept closing your eyes and seeing it in your mind and trying to write it all down. You were going to make each skyport a flower. A perfect- daisy like flower. A single, beautiful divinely simple, stately stem, but with a disk like face with each petal making up the face when it would need to bloom and show off it’s pretty petals.

And no sooner had you done that before suddenly you were using up every flower you knew of to create more versions of what you could clearly now see in your mind as your imagination created it as fast as you could write it down as you were creating stacks and stacks of papers from both hands as you were so infinitely grateful you were ambidextrous to allow this feat as you were putting each stack of notes with each drawing into one big, rather messy pile in front of you, trying to criss cross them so that you could keep them all separate.

You had drained two whole bottles of ink and were on your third just as Kragan woke up a couple of hours later as you were so far down the rabbit hole, your eyes were traveling back and forth between the two stacks of paper to make sure that each thing you were working on with two separate hands doing two separate things were- somehow perfectly in sync. You didn’t care if your fingers were going to permanently turn midnight blue from the ever precious indigo ink. This was pure genius. And it was like you were on some kind of super drug where time was no longer a concept your brain was accustomed to. You barely registered the sun rising, only that the room was getting lighter from the greater increase of light coming into the room through the windows helped you work.

“Tess?” Kragan murmured once he woke up and reached for you, only to find the blankets pulled back and you were no longer beside him. And even the bed itself was now cold from your absence as his eyes soon snapped open to see you no longer in the bed and he felt panicked to no longer see or even hear you.

“Tess?!” Kragan called out a little louder and it caused you to finally pull you out of your hyperfocus and jumped in your skin and caused both hands to jerk the ink on the pages.

“I’m here. I’m here. I…I am having the best and most genius idea ever and I’m writing it down.” You answered as you finally seemed to come up for air for the first time you woke up before you seemed to take a nose dive right back into it.

“Ok… wanna tell me or if you do, you’ll lose momentum?” Kragan asked as his body relaxed as he looked from the bed, to where you now resided in the middle of the room where your desk was- to feel like a fool for not realizing that if you were not in bed- of course you would be at your desk.

“I’ll lose momentum. I can’t stop. I’m not done yet. I mean, I’m almost done but I can’t stop now. If I stop now, it’ll stop blooming and I can’t cut the flowers off before they bloom.” You cryptically answered him back.

“Flowers?” He repeated in confusion.

“Yeah, flowers. So many flowers, all blooming, all at the same time. Like late spring, when the whole garden starts to bud and then bloom all at the same time. But I have to get to all the blooms. I can’t miss any of them or else they’ll wilt before I get them all. I can’t miss them.” You implored desperately.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Kragan asked.

“Yes! I got the best sleep of my life! It’s where the first buds of the first buds of blooms started to appear and when I woke up the buds bloomed.” You answered manically as you continued to go at a hectic pace.

“Are you…are you on drugs? You’re…you’re manic. Why are you manic?” Kragan asked worriedly when he recognized your tone and got up and came over to the desk to see you working like some kind of supercharged machine.

“No! I’m not on drugs. Well, not any of the ones that any mortal can make. My brain is giving me my own drugs. My own fireworks of flowers. It’s like divine inspiration, when the gods inspired the holy books to be written by the prophets. Same thing but just..less holy but if this is what divine inspiration feels like- I get it. I’m almost done, I’m almost done, I only have a few more flowers to get to.” You repeated as you wrote so fast, the writing was near illegible and you were writing in shorthand too! And your hand and wrist and forearm from the other hand were already stained and you didn’t care if you were smudging your own drawings, they were still there enough for Kragan to look at and redraft officially if he needed to.

“If you must look, start with the bottom section of the stack in front of me, but, very, very carefully, don’t disturb the rest of the stack.” You urged him as you kept moving your head and your eyes back and forth as you drew and wrote as fast as your fingers would let you.

“...okay…” Kragan frowned but did as you asked and oh so carefully pulled the section at the bottom of the stack out and left the rest as undisturbed as possible before he looked at the drawing and then to the pages as you had put the lease agreement first and then the first flower, the daisy plans with that.

“Oh-ho-ho-ho! Yes! Oh Babe, this is genius!” Kragan cheered when he read it.

“Thank you, Now look at the flower! Look at the flower!” You urged him as you continued at your near frantic pace.

“What the…oh, wait, wait, what? What did you…Did you seriously design a ship with no sails but…but that could move in the twelve winds because you…you redesigned the propulsion engine motor?!” Kragan gasped when he saw the “flower” and all of it’s beautiful, glorious petals.

“Oh, oh this is giving me an idea. Have you tackled the sunflower yet?” He asked.

“That’s the third one.” You answered as he then took the next two out from under the stack, and got the “sunflower” one out and laughed in delight.

“Oh! This changes everything! This changes everything! Oh my gods, this, this completely changes everything! This is perfect! I love you so much! You’re the smartest being in the universe! You’re divine!” He announced as he kissed your cheek emphatically before he took it and went to his desk that was on the other side of you and did a freehand drawing first, using your sketch and your writing as a guide and just as you were finished with the current flower and changing putting it all together and simply made a second stack, he was just diving into these first ones.

Kragan practically giggled as he drew out the basic design and then gave it bones and flesh and then skin, like creating a new life from scratch. And because he knew the real world applications and know-how and even used your inspiration to spark his own imagination and his own spark of creativity as he then redesigned how it would all work and how it would all be built and what the dimensions needed to be. What everything needed to be- in order to work. And work like the dream came to life that it was.

“So it’s possible?” You asked as you took a moment after finishing your last set to look over at him and watched fondly as he worked.

“Yes. Very much so. I never would have thought to do anything like this without your divine inspiration.” He beamed happily back at you as he looked at you with absolute delight and giddy excitement.

“I don’t know if it’s divine…” You allowed.

“Oh, it is, trust me. This is how you’re going to catapult us into the future. And if you’re doing these based on flowers, each country and each place has it’s favorite flowers, you could totally tailor these to more suit the aesthetics of each place. And they will be perfect works of art and wonders of the world and will be its own destination. Plus I love the change to the Order. It’ll make the privilege of knowing you personally that much more precious and intimate in a way.” He began.

“That and it’ll be easier for the future generations to not constantly feel like they’re in my shadow and have to constantly differentiate them from me.” You explained.

“Yes, I agree. It would be confusing in a lot of ways, like it has with the ships themselves.” He agreed with a nod.

“I’m happy you agree, I have another idea but I wanted to run it by you.” You began.

“I’m all ears Dearest.” He invited.

“I want to give Millie a job.” You began and it caused him to frown slightly in confusion for a moment.

“Doing what?” He asked, trying to keep his tone light and not betray how much he was against Millie ever tearing down anything you had built up.

“My mother has always insisted that Millie was always a princess and future queen in the making. And with this wedding, she is loving all of the attention and the favors and the royal treatment and everyone kissing her ass so to speak. And she couldn’t be happier with that. And it’s a spectacle where she’s the star of the show.” You began as you saved your best “flower” for last as you slowed down and really took your time with it.

“Ok…” Kragan slowly nodded in agreement as his frown deepened.

“But Millie is dreading her life as Countess Lavine in Solowards. Because here I am, practically empress of my own empire and she’s being looked at and expected to repeat what I’ve done and she…she has no idea how to do that and wouldn’t even know where to start. Because all she knows is the performance. She doesn’t know anything else. And that’s only because she’s had it practically beat into her since she was a child to be nothing like me, to be the exact opposite of me, all flash but nothing of real substance. Because if anything of real weight is a burden and no one wants to be a burden. To not be too educated, to not be too intelligent, to not be anything other than a little doll to be dressed up. Or a jewel in a jewelry case, to be worn and to be an accessory to Ron but not be her own person. And now that others are expecting her to be her own person, she’s having a hard time figuring who and what that person is without being told by someone else. And even now, Gwendolyn is terrified to even leave the house. She hates all the pressure that I’ve unknowingly and unintentionally put on her and Millie. And she’s incredibly introverted and very shy and she hates the spotlight of any kind. And she is dreading the thought of even following in either my or Millie’s footsteps. But I have an idea for her, but I want to go over it with my parents. But before I do that, I want Millie to have a chance to stay in the spotlight so that Gwendolyn never has to even get on the stage, not until she really wants to.” You explained.

“So..this is more, how to save your sister Gwendolyn from being a spectacle, while making it so that Millie stays the spectacle?” Kragan concluded.

“Yes.” You confirmed.

“Ok. What did you have in mind?” He asked curiously as his knitted brow relaxed.

“When people will no doubt get their ships and are eager to set sail on the twelve winds and see the world, the rich and powerful and most likely royal ones- will need something of a guide. I want to promote Millie to be a Radiant Diamond. Which is really, only a fancy title that will make her feel important. But it’ll be so that she can go around to all of these capitals first, go to all the opulent opera houses and go to all the courts and palaces that- for those who want to pay the price of staying a night in a castle and live like a royal guest for a day, she could create a guide and her own diamond system. I’m thinking of giving her- her own rating system of diamonds. Specifically five. So if she will go to these eating establishments or will go to these other palaces to stay and live like the princess she’s always wanted to be and has been trained, since birth to have the super fine, opulent and super luxurious tastes. And she can rank and rate everything the world over, starting with Wakanear first since she will be there on her honeymoon. And after the honeymoon, simply either transition or keep it going and sail around and the moment a skyport is opened up, she will be there, trying out everything first to see which places are worth the time to get to. And the fuss that everyone will have when they see her ship, followed by it’s fleet of huge cargo ships behind her and surrounded by other guard ships, as if she is the most precious new bride in the world, more precious than even the Dorrierran ones. Not only would and could she do such a thing, gleefully and joyfully, it would be something she could and would take very seriously. Because it puts her as the seat of judging everyone else and everything else instead of herself being judged and she would have her chance to have her nearly impossibly high standards to be met. And she wouldn’t have to worry about the Solowardian court or really trimming down from Princess to Countess, if anything she can keep herself as she is if she wants to be. She would amass her own empire of all things luxurious and refined sophistication. Since, one, she has the training, two she has the desire and the patience and the skill for that arena that I simply don’t want to have. Hell I was going to go and ask High Councilor Langashi for that biggest and most grandiose crown and present it to her as a wedding present and “anoint” her as such after the wedding. Because then it would be seen as I would only ever trust her super refined luxurious tastes to suit The Order of Radiance Luxury Guide Book.” You relayed.

“That..that would be perfect for her.” Kragan blinked in surprise as his eyebrows lifted for a moment but a smile soon bloomed on his features.

“So what about Gwen?” He asked.

“Well, she’s always been more intellectual like me. But because she is so private and likes the comfort of home but doesn’t want to be a home body all the time and is only currently that because she has a fear of being judged and picked apart if she were to leave the house. She even moved into my old suite of rooms at home, eager to have a private space of solitude, but at the same time, confinement is better than being thrust into the spectacle with Millie. But at the same time, I think she will do better at finding the super secret gems. Like the opposite of Millie, where Millie will be quick to be drawn like a magnet to the really popular and pave the way to the best time of your life at any point in your travels around the world. Gwendolyn will be anti-popular, but for those who want the real, authentic experience, she’ll be the super secret guide. The places where you can’t make reservations. The places that don’t cater to tourists but where you can find the real truth and real soul and real authentic experiences at various places instead of falling for the tourist traps. I want her to find the opposite of that and her guide will be for the precious few intellectuals, artists, those who are more genuinely interested in not going along with Millie’s extravagant luxury guide, but are happy and content to be much more discrete and where no one gives a shit about who you are and what you do and how much money you make or that you’re wearing the latest and greatest. If anything, it will be the opposite, where you can just be and be comfortable. Like when you were just a sailor on your ships before you met me. All of those places that you knew you could and would be accepted just the way you were. But places that might not break out in brawls because these will still need to be safe for others to travel to without getting into trouble or come to any kind of harm. But that you’re not just a tourist, that you’re taken as you are without any kind of pretense, you’re just passing through like any other person. I want her to find the kind of places that will be happy to welcome you in, you can clap along to the music, drink the beer and enjoy really good music and your evenings after doing art or music or reading or appreciating architecture or meet authors and artists and musicians and enjoy their company and either join in or appreciate them as they are. Places like Souja Tavern. The places that make you feel like you’re a local. That you’re no better or no worse than anyone else and where everyone is equal and as long as you have some coin, and good manners, you can still have a good time. The artist circles, cafes, the little eateries, places like that. For the people who march to the beat of their own drum, but can do so safely.” You expounded.

“And then I want you and your brothers and even your dad- to make your own list of places that- if you want rowdy, if you want rough and tumble and dangerous and thrilling, these are the places for you. You either can or can not use your own name of course. But it would be a very much- travelers beware- danger can lurk here- kind of thing.” You carefully expounded.

“Yes, I believe I can do that.” Kragan laughed with a nod.

“Thank you.” You thanked him.

“But otherwise? That five diamond thing? I think Millie would take to that job like a fish to water. And I think your parents would love that for Gwendolyn to feel involved and feel included but not have to be part of the production like Millie is. I think that’s brilliant. And it’s your empire, you do with it what you want and of course I would be happy to help you and support however I can. But yes, I think those are excellent ideas and I think Millie especially will be ecstatic.”

“Also I want to give Millie- plaques that her super famous, super luxurious places she will undoubtedly find- can proudly display. But I want Gwendolyn to have her own marker. But I want it gold with black laquer. Like a super secret code. Or like a password to get into the secret but exclusive places that only those in the know and those in the intellectual, musical and theological, and artisanal spaces would be happy to have those like minded and be beacons where those of likemindedness can come and be themselves without judgment or without too much dangerous exposure, does that make sense?” You asked.

“Yes, perfect sense.” Kragan nodded with a proud smile.

“Thank you.” You smiled.

“Also, I want to hire a police and security force and especially a lawyer team and an investigative branch as well. Like I want The Order of Radiance to be taken seriously and have it’s presence felt and understood with crystal clear clarity.” You added.

“Oh yeah, of course.” Kragan nodded in agreement before Mildred knocked on the door.

“Yes?” You and Kragan answered before Mildred came in with a small tray of tea.

“Oh my goodness, up and doing business already and not even dressed?” She teased.

“Tessa woke up quite inspired, it couldn’t wait.” Kragan readily excused with a proud smile.

“Oh?” Mildred asked as she set the teapot down and poured a cup of tea for each of you before she got you a little plate and passed it to you.

“Oh my goodness, Lady Tessa! Your hands! And your arms?! Are you tattooing yourself in your ink again? You and your ambidextrousness, both hands are like this.” Mildress teased before she tried to grab a rag to try to clean it up.

“But look at what she was making.” Kragan said as he handed her the finished sketch he just then finished up.

“It’s beautiful. I have no idea what it is. But whatever it is, looks beautiful.” Mildred praised.

“Mildred, when you watch a daisy bloom and atop a stately stem, suddenly a table like bloom rests serenely atop it’s stem?” You asked.

“Yes.” Mildred nodded.

“Now you know how a leaved table, with a simple pull on the outer fram and a few adjustments, suddenly a table that once only could seat four, could now seat six or even eight, depending on how many leaves you put into it?’ You continued.

“Yes…” Mildred slowly nodded as she still tried to see how the two things would be related.

“Now, imagine, instead of pulling the frame apart with the table to set the leaves inside. Imagine adding the leaves to the table on the outside. And you can add as many leaves or in this case- petals, as you want. And you can interlock them to the center stem. And, if the petals are supported, not all the stress of bearing the weight is on the stem, suddenly, you can make that flower as large as you want.” You explained as you showed her your original sketch before Kragan showed her his and how it would work and how you could make a “flower” out of the skyport. And potentially make it to be as big as the city itself if you needed it to.

“But what about those under it? Wouldn’t that block out the sun from them?” Mildred asked.

“It would only be up for a few days for special occasions. Otherwise the petals can be like little additional meeting rooms on the skyport. But with each having it’s own engine, they can be flown and arranged anywhere on the skyport that they’re needed and with retractable walls. They can either make a larger enclosed space or even be open to allow a good breeze to come through.” You expounded.

“Oh, well that would be lovely. Like little additions to any of the skyports or even the ships themselves.” Mildred noted before you and Kragan and yourself immediately seemed to light up excitedly.

“Oh Dear. I’ve done it again. Ok, let me get you both your breakfast and most likely lunch and dinner delivered to your rooms. And I’ll send for more paper. Large drafting paper especially. And I’ll even get more inks if I have to.” Mildred sighed in defeat before she saw herself out and had another cart brought in, covered in various dishes from the kitchens before she went ahead and got at least a dressing robe on you both, should anyone actually call you on the messengerari and not still see Kragan shirtless and you in nothing more than a nightgown and opened the windows to let the fair breeze into the rooms.

“Happy Anniversary by the way My Lord and Lady.” Mildred said as she brought in fresh floral arrangements into the room and set it by the window so that the breezes would waft the scents into the room. .

“Anniversary?” You questioned as you looked up at her and looked at the date.

“Yes, it’s been a whole six months already. And you’re still halfway through your pregnancy. But with your sister’s wedding still a good three months off. It will be a wonder what will happen first, your sister becoming Countess Lavine or you becoming a mother because they should be happening at about the same time. But my midwifing instincts say they won’t. Your sister should walk down that aisle before you walk into motherhood with his Lordship walking beside you in fatherhood.” Mildred cooed happily as she replaced the floral arrangement on the table you were eating from too, making sure the fragrance of the blooms would be appreciated as much as it’s beauty without getting in the line of sight between yourself and Kragan since the small table was really only big for two people and their dishes for breakfast.

“Oh gods, please don’t come before the wedding or even the day of. The day after? Go for it my Darling.” You worriedly told your belly as you rubbed at the babe inside as they seemed to still be sleeping.

“Oh don’t even speak such things My Lady. Don’t be tempting Fate like that, lest they make it somehow ten times worse.” Mildred urged you.

“Seriously, don’t.” Kragan shook his head no.

“But yes, happy 6 month anniversary My Love.” He added when he kissed you sweetly.

“Happy Anniversary Beloved.” You mirrored happily.

“And if my midwifin instincts are still as sharp as they ever were, I would actually wager your sister being done with her honeymoon by the time the babe comes.” Mildred wagered.

“Then I trust your word for it.” You offered before a thought came to your mind once you took a bite of breakfast and chewed it thoughtfully.

“Mmm! We should call the notaries, the bankers and others to come to the house for the lease agreement as well as make the changes to The Order.” You reminded both Kragan and yourself.

“Perhaps you should get dressed in something other than a nightgown and a robe if you are to entertain guests of any kind, My Lady.” Mildred urged.

“Yes, after breakfast though.” You nodded before you quickly jotted down a list and handed it to Mildred.

“While I finish up eating breakfast, could you please call those people and tell them that I will need to speak with them at their earliest convenience?” You asked Mildred sweetly.

“Of course My Lady.” She smiled as she took the list before she put it into her portable “phonebook” she kept in a notebook of her own that had all the messenerari numbers on it of all the people you liked to keep in contact with.

Once you had eaten your fill, then you let the other servants come in and help you dress in your new dresses that had been delivered the day before to suit your growing belly and bosom and support you while still keeping you in surprising stylish comfort. You chose something much more discreet and much more demure for today- than what you had gotten yesterday.

And once you were dressed, then you called your parents, who thankfully informed you that the King and Queen both refused court today because they were still reeling from the call yesterday. As you told them about the plan you had hatched that morning and showed them the lease agreement and the countermeasures you had already drawn up. They were ecstatic for it and thought the plan was ingenious.

And when Langashi called you, at Mildred’s request, you showed it to her and even she thought it was ingenious and was quite impressed and agreed that this was the best honey trap imaginable and that if they did not go into the honey trap, she would the iron fist to back you and The Order up. Which you were eternally grateful for.

Within the hour, you had teams of notaries, bankers, and even Langashi came with Dorierran Judiciaries to your palace, and in particular to your “official reception room” where you were content to put on a simple diadem instead of a full crown in your head as you sat at the head of the long business table with Langashi at your right as others took seats along the table as they drafted up official paperwork to do as you wanted and needed them to.

You had the Masters use their special paper, their special inks, and their special magic tools to make the lease agreement or the purchase agreement, whichever their Majesties would prefer as you wrote out your official offer to them, making it the best sales pitch you could, full of ass kissing flattery and strokes to their egos and instead of giving them a choice where they felt they were within a rock and a hard place and instead of challenging the norm. Offer them the option to keep it a cost they would happily pay, while also releasing others from it if they wished to leave it.

And it seemed it all came to be done all at the same time because the ink had no sooner dried on the official document and the seal already stamped in place before your messengerari had rung from your parents and the Lavines.

“Well, it is all done. All that needs to happen is for the exchange of money and land holdings to go into your name.” Your father proudly informed you.

“Perfect. Then let’s get our business done first, and then from there, we can negotiate with their Majesties.” You nodded before you took the special messengerari pen and signed the documents your father had prepared as well as Count Lavine before a Banker processed the large transfers of wealth to their D.A. accounts and made ready for the influx of wealth to the King and Queen of Solowards.

“Pahpah, I now grant you the office of my Official Ambassador of the former Contessina Order, which has just been changed to The Order of Radiance- simply for my own simplicity sake- as well as the title of Supreme Chancellor of Commerce for The Order of Radiance as well. And as Ambassador, your estate, land holdings are now property of The Order and I am granting it to your ownership and stewardship. And those in your household and tenants are now all officially citizens of The Order of Radiance. Please note that The Order holds every man, woman and child as individual citizens. Every man, woman and child of the commonwealth will now receive a yearly stipend which is to be used as a base income in The Order of Radiance within the Dorierran Alliance of a thousand gold denari and 500 silver denari in addition to any good or service they may provide to supplement such an income in union with their support of The Order. They shall receive this as a living starting at the age of 1 and shall go into immediate effect. They are all protected under The Order of Radiance Charter. As well as enjoy the rights and freedoms as stated within The Order’s Bill of Rights. Do you, as landholder and renter to The Order of Radiance tenants- agree to these terms on their behalf and under penalty of The Order of Radiance Law- swear to uphold the Law of the Order as it coincides with the Dorierran Alliance Law and Order?” You offered.

“It is my pleasure to uphold such an honor.” Your father agreed before he signed the papers of Nobility under the Order as well as relinquished his former title as Duke for the King and Queen of Solowards, with one stroke of the pen- freeing himself, his family and those he cared for as landowner- of Solowardian Law and fully into the D.A. and The Order of Radiance.

“Excellent. Congratulations Ambassador.” You smiled.

“Now, for the details. It is decreed under The Order of Radiance that, as Ambassador to The Order- you will only ever owe the nominal fee to the D.A. as a citizen of the D.A. As well as to The Order of a thousand gold Dorierran danari a year. Otherwise there will be no other taxes collected by The Order. Only those by the D.A. which we are all international citizens of. But otherwise, you will now have an income from The Order- and that salary is this amount. Is this agreeable?” You officially informed him once you wrote that number down for him to quickly see.

“I do.” He smiled as you could tell he was already thinking of ways to turn that sum of a hundred thousand gold denari into millions.

“And my beautiful Mamah. You are my Prime Radiance of The Order of Radiance Official Court. Where you can choose any court site of your liking to hold your court. You may hold your court in conjunction with The Order’s Court of Commerce. Or, if you wish to keep your court separate and have it be any other kind of court you see fit- you are empowered to make this court how you see fit and I now empower you to accept or decline anyone whom you deem worthy into your court, if I or any other Lady of the Order do not accept them into the court previously. And that, as also my Ambassador to any and all other courts within the Dorierran Alliance, that you will be the Order’s eyes, ears and mouthpiece should you see fit.” You informed your mother proudly.

“It is my pleasure to hold this honor.” She gleefully agreed.

“Excellent. Also your income for this office, both as Ambassador and as Prime Radiance- to be used how you see fit and engage in any business you so desire both in and out of The Order’s Court of Commerce.” You grinned before your mother gasped when she saw the same number for her.

“Are…are you sure?” She couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Yes. Both of you are heads of your courts. I couldn’t have one- make more than the other. I need to empower and fully realize both courts.” You nodded.

“I’m…humbled by your generosity.” Your mother offered as her lips wavered while her eyes grew glassy with tears but she signed it before you pulled the papers back.

“Excellent. Now I will need all of my siblings to please enter the room, if they are not already present.” You offered.

“We’re here!” Your other sisters and brothers giddily announced as they came around to be with your parents on the Messengerari.

“Now, Toulouse, I know you want to be a lawyer, I’m going to count on you to help me with The Order’s interests in navigating Solowardian Law, I’ll be sending you law books and a team from Dorierra to bring you up to speed on the D.A. side of things, and I’ll need your help drafting more than just the Bill of Rights ok?” You requested.

“Yes, on it.” He readily reassured you.

“Saffiro, you’re already my Chief Financial Officer for The Order. So that’s already taken care of. Bellamy, I know you’re really good at sneaking. I’m sending you a team of investigators. I’m gonna need you as my Chief Investigator for The Order, you think you might be up to learning to be that? I know you’re only 15 but you’re pretty good at it as it is.” You urged him.

“Yes!” He beamed.

“Gwendolyn, I need you to help me find the best musicians to provide music for various functions The Order will no doubt have. Because you’re a natural talent for it. I’m counting on you helping me find the best talent- even if it’s in unexpected places and I’ll send you the finer details later, but for now I need you to sign here.” You worded with a meaningful look as Gwen blinked in surprise to hear that but did as you asked and signed it before a packet came to her own private messengerari in her room.

“So what do I get to do?” Millie asked expectantly.

“I have saved the best for last, my Dear Millicent.” You grinned.

“Yes!” She cheered.

“Since you will be getting your ship first and you will be the first to use it to sail around the world with Ron and his family. I’m making you Premiere Diamond DeCuisine- which I want you to take the special plaques that- are still being finished as we speak, because this was going to be a wedding present, but there’s no time like the present- but I want you and Ron to go around the world and make a Premiere Diamond DeCuisine Guide Book for The Order of Radiance. Every royal and every noble with the pocketbooks of a royal will need to know where they can go in any given location at any given time of year and receive the best banquet their money can buy. You will give a rating system of five diamonds. If you find a place that has the food, service and atmosphere worthy of those five, perfect, flawless diamonds in the rating, then all those who have a Radiance Ship, will happily follow where you will lead them in the culinary arts and your word, your nod will be as good as gold and diamonds. But, you can’t let anyone try to beguile you or find a way to bribe you into giving them that five diamond rating if they are not worthy and are not capable of giving everyone who would follow you there- the same five diamond experience. Because others will trust your word in that guide as if it’s the gospel truth. Do you think you and Ron could do that?” You urged her.

“Yes!” Ron immediately agreed.

“Yes! Wait, won’t I get fat?” Millie asked as an afterthought.

“Not if you judge them based on a single bite.” You answered.

“Then yes! I would happily and proudly do such a thing. Do I get my own crown?” She asked.

“Yes. You will get your own crown. I will crown you as your wedding present. How’s that?” You proposed.

“As long as it’s that really big one you had the option of getting.” She answered.

“You mean this one?” Langashi asked as she seemed to have brought that with her and practically pulled it out from a bag she had brought with her.

“Yes! That one!” Millie squealed in delight.

“I won’t have to wear a crown will I?” Gwen asked fearfully.

“Nope, not at all. I know how much you don’t like them and how discrete you like to keep yourself, I’m hoping you will conduct yourself and your task with as much anonymity as you wish to keep.” You reassured her as she blew out a breath of relief.

“So how much will the income be?” Millie asked you.

“This much.” You offered as you wrote down 25,000 a year. Which you were sure her food as going to be comped anyway.

“Yes! Can’t wait!” She beamed.

“Awesome, now Count Lavine, I’m hereby anointing you as my Prime Vizier of Commerce to assist the Chancellor in the Court of Commerce for The Order of Radiance. And if you will sell The Order of Radiance- all the lands to which you own within the Kingdom of Solowards, so that The Order will pay the one time sales tax to the King of Solowards- so that such properties will be under the same embassy protections of The Order. And I will in turn- grant you said lands and estates as Prime Vizier of Commerce your estate, land holdings are now property of The Order. And those in your household and tenants are now all officially citizens of The Order of Radiance. Please note that The Order holds every man, woman and child as individual citizens. Every man, woman and child of the commonwealth will now receive a yearly stipend which is to be used as a base income in The Order of Radiance within the Dorierran Alliance of a thousand gold denari and 500 silver denari in addition to any good or service they may provide to supplement such an income in union with their support of The Order. They shall receive this as a living starting at the age of 1 and shall go into immediate effect. They are all protected under The Order of Radiance Charter. As well as enjoy the rights and freedoms as stated within The Order’s Bill of Rights. Do you, as landholder and renter to The Order of Radiance tenants- agree to these terms on their behalf and under penalty of The Order of Radiance Law- swear to uphold the Law of the Order as it coincides with the Dorierran Alliance Law and Order?” You questioned.

“It is my pleasure to hold such an honor.” Count Lavine smiled happily.

“And is this income sufficient for such an office?” You asked as you showed him an offer of 50,000 gold denari a year.

“Yes, more than generous.” He smiled.

“And Countess Lavine, I would like to anoint you as Premiere Vogue. You will assist Her Prime Radiance with The Order of Radiance Official Court.”

“It would be my pleasure to accept such an honor.” Kathryn happily squealed in delight and readily signed as you had to quickly write down her income, also 50,000 denari a year to which she practically had diamonds floating in her eyes to see.

“However, I urge you to help Her Prime Radiance to keep the styling and fashion of the court of The Order, comfortable for all and simple, timeless elegance so that none of us have to worry about investing in huge wardrobes that will be in fashion one year and out the next, or colors that will be in fashion one day and out the next. I wish for every woman to embrace the stylings she is most comfortable in. And simply have something simple- like a sash, to be worn over her desired clothes to signify that she too is a Lady of The Order of Radiance Court and is an a court of equals and I wish for the matters of the day to take precedence over what anyone else just happen to choose to wear that day to court. And gentlemen, I urge you to do the same. Find a style that is timelessly elegant, but perhaps a bit more discrete in it’s lavishness, because I wish for the Court of Commerce to care more about the business of the day rather than what everyone else is choosing to comfortably wear. Please take His Royal Radiance Supreme as a great example of what fashions should be. The Order has the whole of the Supersphere within it. And being a part of the Dorierran Alliance, we should be embracing other people from other countries and other locations. We should be welcoming towards all, not excluding anyone else- also welcomed into the Order. No matter their country of origin, race, ethnicity, creed, tribe, kind or tongue of language. We are a worldwide organization. We should embody that and keep that in mind always. For we are always stronger together than apart. Agreed?” You urged them all.

“Agreed.” Everyone echoed.

“Excellent, now Young Count Lavine, I would like to anoint you as Golden Radiance. Because as we are all aware, that no jewel is safe unless it is in a setting most befitting the jewel. So your job is to secure Her Diamond Radiance so that together, you may find the best places to see and be seen in. Opera houses, theaters, restaurants, casinos, and any other venue of entertainment. And that the masses that will soon follow and join you on your flights around the world may enjoy such diversions with you- in safety, style and comfort. Do you accept this anointing?” You asked him.

“I do. I never thought in a million years I would ever say ‘I do’ to you for any reason, but I’m happy to be wrong and I wholeheartedly do pledge ‘I do’ to that anointing.” Ron couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of his choice of words.

“Then please sign and agree to the income.” You urged him as you wrote down an income of 25,000 gold denari a year. Knowing he would most likely get everything he would ever want to spend on food and entertainment comped anyway. But it would protect them from Solowards, just in case the King decided to strip away anything else that wasn’t listed in these documents.

“So that should be everything? If I missed anything, we can work it out later, because I feel it’s time we face the King and Queen of Solowards, don’t you think?” You asked.

“Yes.” Everyone grinned before you punched in the code to call them.

“Your Radiance. We were not expecting to hear from you so soon.” Queen Phelicity offered a bit nervously.

“I came to offer an apology.” You offered as you kept your family and the Lavines on a separate screen so that it looked like it was a private call between just you and her.

“Oh.” She blinked in surprise.

“Please call for the King.” Queen Phelicity urged her attendants.

“Thank you so much Your Radiance, really, we meant no disrespect yesterday.” She tried to soothe over as you simply gave her a polite but serene smile.

“I know you didn’t. Which is why I’m calling.” You answered as she looked so incredibly relieved.

“My King, Her Radiance has called to apologize.” She informed her husband when he came into the room.

“Oh, good.” He seemed to breathe in relief as he came and looked at you expectantly and you could thankfully had Kragan just out of sight as you squeezed his hand when you heard him huff. But hopefully Kragan wouldn’t make any other noise or really be seen either.

“King Grenevere and Queen Phelicity. I called to apologize for being rude to you yesterday. I have been incredibly busy with my business as of late and I fear that has not been good for me, it’s been exhausting in all honesty. And that exhaustion has made me incredibly irritable. And I unfortunately let that irritation to vent on you yesterday. And I called to offer my apologies for not receiving you with the respect and graciousness that your Majesties deserve.” You began as you could see them both relax and actually smile and even preen to hear the words. But for this to work, you needed to make a show of being humble to their faces and give them the lip service they felt they were entitled to, whether they deserved it or not.

“I was appointed the owner of a business. And while that business has been promoted to the station of it’s own kingdom, I must keep in mind that you both were anointed and enthroned into your thrones by the priests from the very gods we both worship. And have been appointed by the gods we both believe in to rule over your kingdom. And I need to first- show respect and reverence for that. For- to do otherwise is to laugh in the god’s faces and court disaster, which I do not wish upon anyone, lest myself.” You continued.

“Yes, thank you so much for recognizing that.” King Grenevere offered as you could see that such a thing had not even occurred to him. But the fact that you brought it up you could see that he was delighted to realize that he had that angle to work from.

“Our interaction yesterday did not sit well with me and I didn’t sleep as well as I wished I could have. But when I awoke early this morning. I think divine inspiration has moved me to try to make things right and amend this breach so that we may both come to an understanding and a solution that we both will be happy with. So, as it stands. I have bought some lands for future development in Solowards and I wish to send you the correct tax on those sales. This is the receipt of the sales so that you may see and make sure that the calculations were done correctly.” You began as the bankers sent the documents through, as a simple total was the title page.

“Oh my goodness. Yes. That is more than acceptable. I do happily accept such a sum as sales tax from your Order for property bought.” King Grenevere smiled happily as he was happy and content with the total page and didn’t even bother looking at what you had actually bought. Which you were hoping for anyway.

“Good. Because I do realize that taxes are how the Crown sustains itself and I must respect that first and foremost.” You placated.

“Of course.” They both readily agreed.

“Next, I would also like to offer your Majesties the dignity of a good choice. I do realize that it would be in bad taste to unveil the Radiance Ships at my sister’s wedding and it would be the right thing to it that a ship to your Majesties was also given. However, there was a promise made that the highest bid would win the ship. And I myself can not go back on my word, neither I, nor The Order as a whole. And unfortunately, the Radiant Contessina Magnifica- the bid is currently at 499.9 million gold denari, which- each gold bouillon is equal to the gold denari. And The Order must be an organization and business of it’s word. And there is nothing I can do to stop the bidding from continuing. However, all I can do is either accept new bids and then stop the bidding once it’s done. But I do not wish to bankrupt the Solowardian Crown either. So, if you want to enter into the bidding of The Magnifica, only a bid of 500 million gold denari or higher will be accepted. But the entire amount would not be demanded all up front and not all at once. If needed, I could break that down into much smaller and much easier to manage payments if you wanted to buy it outright. And as it stands, with taxes and fees demanded for such a purchase, if I spread out the sum over say a 20 year period and do monthly payments, is still a payment of 2.6 million gold denari a month. Is this what you want? Or I have other options if your Majesties would permit me to explain them.” You offered as they seemed to sharply inhale from “price shock” you were sure.

“What are our other options?” King Grenevere.

“What you could do- is simply lease the Radiance Contessina Magnifica while your own custom one is being built. You have to remember, that if you choose to do this, not only will you get sailing rights on the largest, grandest skyship to ever sail the twelve winds. You’d be the first royals to set sail on the skies. I’m commissioning a master cuisine magnifique to go to every single Radiance Skyport’s location and find the best restaurants and other amusements. And you’d be the first royal tourists. You’d have the first of the greatest experiences the supersphere can offer. You can even sail this ship past the outer layer to the middle world and get to see everything within that since the Order is building skyports even there. And even sail to the core if you so desired.” You tempted.

“You’d be in the skies to see events, such as the great moura migrations that happen only twice a year. Where they fly through the entirety of the supersphere in one single flight. You could sail with them in the skies as they fly in the northern and southern lights in the winter, following the moon and lighting up like diamonds scattered across the velvety sky. Or follow the golden sun around the equator in the summer. You would be the first in the world to do so. And every single king and queen, czar and czarina, cesar and cesaress, emperor and empress and every other kind of ruler you can think of, will all be coming to you- to learn where to go when to get the best experience. You’d be the greatest royal travelers in the superspheres and you’d do so from the greatest ship in the fleet. Protected by the best Dorierran and The Order’s security detail. So that not a single thing goes missing and that not once, are either of you, nor any member of your family and household would ever be in any kind of danger. You would have the best staff if you didn’t want to bring the staff from your own castle. I would personally see to it that the best staff in Dorierra would be staffing your ship for the duration of the lease. And when your ship is done. You simply get to move from- what will by then- be a five year old ship- into a brand new one. And one that will have five years worth of enhancements, upgrades and the very best of the best materials and components will be there, waiting for you to continue the journey if you so desire.” You detailed, going down a quick list you had made up that morning to really “sell” them on such an idea.

“How much would leasing the ship be?” King Grenevere asked.

“Well, unfortunately, this too has been up for bidding. Currently, a bid of 50 million denari a year is the lowest bid I can take to close out the bid. But again, this would only be for a few years. At the very longest- five years. And in that five years, again you’d only be paying a fraction of what you would be- should you buy it outright. And what you’re getting is the experience of getting the best- first. And have bragging rights for life for having the opportunity to do what no one else in the world can and could do. And while I can only pay purchase taxes from my business, because I never was a full Solowardian citizen. Because if women were given full citizenship rights, then they could be taxed as such as well. But Solowards and it’s laws and societies have been its way for generations and for such a strong tradition to change only for you to collect more taxes, I do not know or think would honor the Solowardian Tradition- do you?” You offered.

“Well, that is a good point.” King Grenevere had to nod in agreement.

“And Solowards wouldn't be Solowards if you changed too much too quickly. All I wish to do is to bring Solowards into the Dorierran Alliance and bring it into the world stage- in style.” You professed with a nod as you noticed, they were nodding with you, which was exactly what you wanted.

“Now, if you choose to lease the Magnifica for that 50 million denari a year, for anywhere from one to five years, depending on how long it would take to build your Royal Solowardian Magnifica Radiance Ship, which you can name any name you wish. You can have it simply be the Royal Radiant Magnifica if you wanted, and keep my name off of it completely if you so desired. Because your custom ship, which I will see to it’s building personally to make sure it is the best of the best for you- and that while we will do our best to keep the wait as short as possible, we would not do so at the cost of the quality of the workmanship being anything less than perfect. And we would never cut corners or take cheap shortcuts, which so far- only seems to make ten more new problems when you try to take them, but that has only led to ingenious solutions to such problems being discovered that don’t create any additional problems whatsoever. So if it only ends up taking two years to build your perfect ship. Then that means, you will have gotten an 80% discount on the best ship of the supersphere and at end of that time, get the best ship in the world- yet again!” You implored.

“And by then, the first Magnifica will still be the first Magnifica but by then, that’s when the new ships will take to the skies and by then there would be so many more royals to sail with from all over the world and in the D.A. And that’s where you can boast that I, the namesake of The Contessina Magnifica was born on Solowardian soil. That my ancestors lived and served yours for the last fifteen generations and that I was the highest station outside of royalty when I was there. That once upon, not such a long time ago- I was your Duchess Contessina DeBaringer before I ever became Her Radiance, Contessina Salgria. We could even commission paintings of when I was presented to Your Majesties in your court at the height of fashion. And your ship will always be the gold standard, to which all others are measured, right from the start.” You flourished, appealing to their vanity and ego and you could see it was working perfectly.

“The only thing is, is that with such a sum, on a yearly basis, means that your monthly payment will be a bit higher than if you paid for ten times the price but over twenty times the length. A monthly payment of 5.2 million denari a month would need to be paid for all taxes and fees from the Dorierran Alliance. But there is no additional tax from The Order of Radiance. For you are King and Queen of my homeland, I would never dream of charging you of all people a tax. But there is, unfortunately, nothing I can do to negate the Dorrierran tax, which we all must partake in. I myself the most of all, because they charge a flat rate. So it doesn’t matter what I buy or spend, they get theirs one way or another, I assure you. But that also helps the realm, which, Solowards is also a part of. And it would trickle down to you one way or another.” You reassured them.

“And, because you would be getting your own custom ship in the end, its price tag would still never be as high as the first Magnifica ship would be. And instead of paying 50 million denari for a ship a year, your ship could end up only costing you 50 million total. And that broken down into monthly payments for a twenty year loan would only end up being- a measly 434,000 deneri a month. And with all the income Solowards would receive from other royal tourists, such a sum would be a piece of cake to make and be one that you would never have to raise taxes on the people to make. That you would make it off of the other tourists instead. But keep your true Solowardian Soul and Spirit unchanged and keep it as grand in it’s traditions as it is.” You added.

“Surely our treasury could afford such a thing. The pride of Solowards is resting on this.” Queen Phelicity urged her husband.

“Yes, absolutely.” He agreed as you smiled happily while Kragan couldn’t help but grin victoriously and give your hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m so happy we could come to such a beautiful and mutually beneficial understanding and arrangement. Now, I have three contracts for you to sign. The first- is that all those who come to tour Solowards can expect to pay fair market value on resupplying supplies, such as food and water, the necessities of life. However, on more luxury goods, that are not necessities. Like high Solowardian Society garments. Or jewelry, or wine or other spirits. You can always charge a luxury tax on such goods when being sold to other royalty and nobility who would come to tour Solowards. All of whom would be coming with their heavy pocketbooks-, eager to fill any other pocket for any memento of their wonderful travels to our magnificent homeland. You could even commission special gift shops making things in Solowards with even the Solowardian royal seal and coat of arms on them to sell as souvenirs. And you would not have to charge such a tax on your own native Solowardian citizens either.” You began as you put that one down first before you got their signatures on that first. And in the fine print of course, was the rights and freedoms of The Order’s citizens too.

“Next is the lease agreement for the very first Radiant Contessina Magnifica and that you will have that model of ship exclusively for the first year. So that whenever anyone will see it, they will know that it has to be no other than the Magnificent King Grenevere and his beautiful Queen Phelicity and any and all other members of your royal family- there sailing in their skies and gracing them with your magnificent presence.” You flattered as you put the lease agreement down and they both eagerly signed it and were more than happy to put their royal seals into it and have that notarized as well.

“And the moment the ship is unveiled at my sister Millicent’s wedding, you and any other you wish to invite on board are more than welcome to tour the greatest ship in the supersphere. You could even charge a small fee to offer personal tours so that all those in attendants will practically turn green with envy if they are not already naturally green.” You giggled with a wave of your hand which got them to chuckle laughter with you.

“And lastly, is the building agreement for your own future Magnifica Ship. And here are the plans I’ve drawn up and we can always make changes to the little details as the building progresses and as new improvements come to light over the next two to five years. And should there be a difference in price between now and then, we can always work that out at another suitable time.” You offered as they were practically drooling to sign that as well.

“And these plans are yours to keep and pour over- for as long as you want to and physical copies will also be presented at my sister’s Wedding in just a few short months. And that way you can compare your plans to the first Magnifica and if you find anything about the first Magnifica that you wish was different or that you wish you could change for your own future ship, by all means, do so in the plans- so that when you do get your dream ship in a few years time- it will be perfect for you and only you.” You encouraged them.

“Oh, such a thing sounds absolutely divine.” Phelicity sighed dreamily.

“Well, like I said, I woke up early because this is what struck me. And if you feel it is divine, then I can not help but to agree. And this way, no other damage was done than a simple misunderstanding. But if anything, our bond and relationship can only improve and grow even more fruitful than it already has been.” You flattered.

“Yes of course, it is as it always should be.” King Grenevere happily praised.

“Well then, thank you so much for your time and should you have any other lands or properties for sale to The Order become available- so that more amusements and attractions might be built and made so that for years and decades and even generations to come, Solowards will be the first port of call on anyone’s itinerary, you have my number. And even if I should pay the luxury tax on such things, I will be happy to. For even the Solowardian Crown was put into place by the gods.” You reminded them.

“Oh no, you are a daughter of Solowards. And I hereby decree that you always were a full citizen under the Solowardian Crown. You have every right that any other citizen under the crown has. And I shall put such things into writing today, both you and the family you were born from and the one you married into. I shall promote you all to the nobility of Grand Dukes and Duchesses in our court. And the native nobility will always be saved from paying the luxury tax, because we need to keep the nobility class noble don’t we?” King Grenevere offered.

“Many countless thanks King Grenevere, you are ever wise and gracious.” You offered sweetly.

“Now if Your Majesties will please excuse me, I have much work to get started on.” You offered sweetly.

“Yes, until we meet again Your Radiance.” They offered.

“Your Majesties.” You smiled sweetly and shut off the call to their Majesties as everyone else in your family and the Lavines and even those in the room with you all began to cheer and applaud you before Kragan leaned over and wrapped his arms around you to hug you from the large double seat the two of you liked to sit in and kissed your cheek sweetly before you kissed him back happily.

“You played them like fiddle.” He praised.

“Did I come off as too sweet that it could be seen as insincere?” You asked him.

“Nope, from where I sat, you made it sound like the gospel truth. Hell you had me going for a second.” Kragan teased as he kept his arm wrapped around your shoulders and nuzzled his face with yours before he used his other hand to pick up a pen and make notes to start looking and training guards for The Order’s guardian ships. Which would honestly just be Salgria Shipping ships armored and armed to the teeth with an even darker shade of gray in the uniforms.

“I tried.” You offered as you relaxed into his side while making more notes with your hand as well.

“You succeeded.” He cooed.

“Very well done Dearest. You should win an award for that. Now Ladies? That’s how it’s done. That’s how you kiss someone’s ass without getting your nose brown.” Your mother gestured to you with each of your sister’s under her arms and squeezing them both as they both couldn’t help but roll their eyes slightly.

“Seriously, I am over here taking notes!” Samantha even chimed in proudly as she literally was taking notes about this interaction.

“If I had a hundred more of you in the bride system, ugh, there would never be another war, ever.” Langashi appraised.

“Please have this crown, with it’s suite of jewels prepared as gifts for her Diamond Radiance and a masculine set to suit his Golden Radiance.” She offered to one of her servants who came and took the crown, it’s case from her and left to do just that.

“And you did it so beautifully, and while you had to put on a little show of humility, the line of reasoning you used was flawless. And perfectly executed. You really are a wonder. Kragan, do well to cherish such a treasure. For there will be nothing that the two of you together can not do.” Langashi praised you and him.

“Also, I hope you will forgive me, but I did have some laws drawn up for your approval for The Order of Radiance.” She offered before she made a gesture and showed you a set of manuscripts as you sat there and felt like you grinned like an idiot for every page you turned over and read as your eyes got almost impossibly wide but your smile got to be so bright and in awed wonder while your eyes glazed with tears as Kragan wasn’t able to keep up with you and simply rubbed circles into your back and let you speed read your way through them as you also took your pen and were marking which laws you didn’t care for as you went.

“It’s like she’s a machine.” Langashi murmured in a gentle teasing tone.

“She’s brilliant.” Kragan praised.

“She’s a wonder.” Langashi praised.

“Well this should do it for now. Should you ever need an iron fist wielding an iron hammer, you know where and how to reach me.” Langashi offered.

“Thank you, for everything.” You paused and looked up at her as she began to stand up as you stood up with her to offer a more intimate goodbye with your newest best mother figure.

“You’re welcome. It’s young ladies like yourself that are the reason I have become what I am today. And if by smashing the patriarchy, one kingdom and crown at a time is what I have to do it- to give young ladies like yourself every opportunity to make the world a better place, then so be it.” She smiled as she came over and kissed the crown of your head and hugged you as you got up to hug her back, like she was another mother or perhaps even a young grandmother to you.

“Oh, this little one, she’s going to be trailblazer, just like her mother.” She said as she palmed your belly as she withdrew from the hug.

“She?!” You and Kragan both excitedly gasped, as did everyone else present.

“Yes. She. Mouras, can tell with their lira light touch- at conception, what their little ones will be. Other kinds, we have to wait until midpoint in the pregnancy to be able to tell if the little one will be a girl or a boy when the sex develops in the developing fetus. And in feeling her now, she is a girl. A lovely, strong and very intelligent girl, just like her mother. Although, she does turn slightly whenever her father talks.” She noted.

“We’re having a girl! Oh my goodness it’s a girl! I get to have an Empress and a Princess!” Kragan cheered happily and practically bounced out of the chair to pull you into another tight hug.

“Now that reaction right there, what I would give for every father to have that reaction when they are finding that their wives are pregnant with daughters, oh the world would be such a better place.” Langashi laughed as you immediately flung yourself into Kragan’s arms before your parents and the lavines all cheered their congratulations and immediately of course, started to throw out baby names.

“Enough, enough, Kragan and I will decide for ourselves what to name our daughter, we will let you know when we have a name picked out. I’ll see you all again soon.” You urged before you said your goodbyes and asked for copies of baby name books be brought your personal, private quarters along with these volumes of manuscripts.

“Of course.” Langashi readily agreed.

“It’s a girl! It’s a girl! It’s a girl! Yes! That’s what I’ve been hoping for!” Kragan cheered as he literally jumped up and down in the room once you retreated back to your own private rooms as you laughed and hugged your belly happily as you laughed at his antics.

“What are we going to name her? Victoria? Like Victory? Or Celestra? Because she’s the star of our life. Ooh! Or Lunesta? Or Lunabella? Because she’ll be the beautiful moon and stars in our lives?” Kragan asked.

“Those…those are very Solowardian names Kragan. Are you sure you want to name her a Solowardian name? I thought you’d want to name her something from your culture because she’s just as much from you and yours as she is from me and mine, she’s ours. We can name her whatever we want or we can wait until she’s born to see what she will be when we see her?” You offered.

“Yeah but, as much as Solowards is stupid, it kind of went off with the names. Solowards does have some really pretty names.” He excused.

“Doesn’t mean that Forestrong names are any less beautiful.” You tried to gently argue.

“Darling, I love you, you’re brilliant and beautiful, but come on, she should have an amazing name that means something amazing.” He urged you.

“But what if she’s like Gwen and hates having super auspicious name and that pressure for her to be equally impressive and remarkable has her running for the hills?” You tried to reason.

“I mean my name means royalty. Because before Ron was born, my dad was trying to marry me off into the royal family. And that would have been as equally devastating as marrying Ron would have been. Do I want her to have a pretty name? Yes. But I also don’t want her to have such as extravagant name that she feels like she has to use two pages of paper to write it all out. I want to give her the choice and the chance to either taken the stage or shy away from it if she so desires. I mean, I’m happy to work at my desk, sitting in that double chair with you all the days of my life. She may want something similar or she may hate paperwork all together and never be stuck behind the back of a desk and sail the twelve winds just like you- with the sun and wind in her face and hair and a belt on her trousers and a ropes in her hands instead of a pen or gold for that matter. She may be our little adventurer where the only paper she wants to touch is the parchment of maps.” You tried to contend.

“...true.” He had to admit.

“...but that being said, I do like the name Glorianna and or Victoria or even Fortunata- for a middle name perhaps. Or even Adorabella, or Serephena or even simplified into Serena, or even Madelluna, or Magdellaina or whatever.” You clarified.

“Adorabella Seraphina Magdelainluna. We can call her Adora or Bella or Serena or Maggie or Maddie or Del, or Luna for short.” Kragan offered as he listed off the several nicknames to be had from just those names.

“OK, that does sound quite beautiful and with enough variability she could do any number of things with her own name. That’s perfectly beautiful Kragan- Adorabella Seraphina Magdelainluna Salgria, there, a proper - but probably over complicated name for her Little Radiance.” You offered just as the baby name books got delivered which got you both to chuckle.

“Do you want to see if we can find a prettier name or find other names for future children?” You suggested.

“Ooh, the latter. I think we have Little Serena’s name pretty well settled.” He offered as he giddily palmed your belly.

“Yes, Serena, I like it. Simple and if anything, she has filled me with a sense of serenity.” You offered.

“Me too.” Kragan smiled before he kissed you and thankfully, lunch was delivered before you could eat again before you filled your hunger from each other again before you sat down to a wonderful lunch and baby name books.

#The Switch #The Switch Chapter 14 #Orc love story #orc husband #orc period drama #orc renessaince period drama

3 notes · View notes

animehouse-moe · 1 year

Text

Buying Manga In Canada

So, any Canadian knows the woes of not having a RightStufAnime up here, or a Kinokuniya or any real specialty animanga stores (unless you live in a major metropolitan area). We also know that Indigo has currently been out of commission online for nearing a week at this point (and has a whole host of other issues currently), and that even then it's hit and miss for orders shipping on time, not having damaged items, and any number of other thing. And Amazon, well it's Amazon. Sure it'll get there in 2 days, but in one piece is an entirely other conversation.

So what can we do? Where we can we shop?

Quite a few places, it turns out. Though each with a caveat.

I'll be blunt. For pre-ordered items, you're not going to beat Indigo or Amazon for delivery. If you have a store near you there's no concerns, but for people ordering predominantly online you'll most likely be stuck with a bigger retailer if you want your items in a (typically) timely fashion.

Anyways, let's get started, what are our alternatives?

The C&L Internet Club

The C&L Internet Club, also referred to as The CNL, is an online retail website for a warehouse located in Burnaby, BC. They sell a whole lot of stuff, including DVDs and Blu-Rays. Anyways, to the point, Manga. It's good, they have pretty common sales that align overall with sale periods (so just don't expect sales outside of regular windows). The shipping time frame is pretty solid, packaging is well done and they process very quick. The only thing is that they might not carry that niche title you're looking to get into.

Where The CNL makes up for that though is in two areas. The first is free shipping no matter the order size. Sure, it might mean you end up with a dozen packages because they split it up into lettermail, but it means free shipping anywhere in Canada. It's a pretty great deal. The second aspect though is rare stuff. I just recently purchased about half of the total volumes currently printed for D-Frag! through them. The latter half mostly, but still, they had quite a few volumes that are OOS with other retailers, and even had crazy stuff like the last 5 volumes of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei.

So at the end of the day, they might not have as much stock as the bigger retailers, but free shipping regardless, fast processing times, good packaging, and (from personal experience) great customer service, it's pretty easy to recommend for in stock orders at retail price.

The Beguiling

The Beguiling (subtitled Books & Art) is a comic and manga bookstore in the heart of Toronto, Ontario. They're a relatively small store for sure, so pre-orders and great shipping times aren't a guarantee, but this is another retailer I've bought from (both in store and online). I haven't paid enough attention to see if The Beguiling does any sales, but their retail prices are pretty reasonable. They follow The CNL pretty well in most areas but are just a smaller retailer overall so things can be a bit slower. One thing they're behind on is available stock. It's a small location so they don't have a lot of space for lots of extra volumes, so some orders might take longer.

The Beguiling makes up for it in an interesting and one-of-a-kind manner though: range. The Beguiling could also have some rarities like The CNL, but this is in a different fashion. This bookstore is one of two bookstores in all of Canada that carry Glacier Bay Book titles. Alongside that, they have a lot of other unique publishers, another example being Hollow Press. And if that wasn't enough, they've got plenty of interesting and uncommon art books, old ones too. I got my Yoshitoshi art book via The Beguiling.

If you're going for an "in stock" order, I'd probably sooner pick The CNL, but that's because I have more experience with them. The packaging, customer service, and overall experience with The Beguiling is really solid for sure, and for orders over 100CAD it's free shipping (unlike The CNL which has no minimum), anything under it though they cite a 9 dollar charge for it, so there's no need for expensive orders.

Imaginaire

Imaginaire is the start of the retailers that I haven't purchased from. It's a Quebec based retailer with several locations, and has a bit of an interesting side to it. There's free shipping, but at several tiers. Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick see free shipping at over 59CAD, while other areas see it over 119, though paid shipping is pretty reasonable as it's as cheap as 8CAD.

Imaginaire is somewhat similar to The CNL in that it carries much more than just manga, but it's also similar to The Beguiling because it does not carry a great amount of stock. Instead, there are items you have to "special order", which essentially means extra processing time before they can be shipped. Overall, I'd say it's the most limiting of the list currently, its catalogue is rather narrow overall despite carrying both French and English titles.

I think if there's something you're looking for, and you're really far from BC Imaginaire probably isn't too bad, but it doesn't have a lot of the volume that the prior two have in terms of offering. Really, this is an online retailer for French, and by extension French Special Editions. If you collect them, this is one of the few alternatives to Indigo for fancy French stuff.

OtakuLounge

OtakuLounge is probably the most interesting on the list because it's effectively a Manga Cafe, located in Montreal, Quebec. It's got a massive library of French manga, a good amount of English, and even some Japanese volumes available to read.

Their catalogue is better than Imaginaire, but they have quite a few items that aren't sold online, making for a bit of a back and forth game on figuring out what you can and can't order online. In addition to that, OtakuLounge has no information that indicates that there is a free shipping minimum, and shipping costs start at 8CAD, and increase for a dollar with each volume. With all of that, it's even less likely to be a hit for online purchases, but the very idea of it is interesting enough to warrant attention.

In opposition though, their French Catalogue is fairly massive, and they seem to have more French Collectors editions. Though again, both retailers are somewhat hit or miss for older titles. In stock ones they're both fine, so Imaginaire has the edge due to free shipping.

Other Options

Manga Canada - Low stocked, but free shipping at 79CAD Bookoutlet - Almost zero stock, but free shipping and great prices BookDepository - Owned by Amazon, free shipping and sometimes good prices (use VPN and access from UK for best prices) And probably a few others, but a lot operate as brick & Mortar only.

At the end of the day, do we have a RightStuf or Kinokuniya in Canada? No.

But, there are options.

Personally, I would recommend The CNL or The Beguiling pretty strongly, depending on what it might be that you're after. Outside of that, the other retailers are conditional and specific to your personal circumstances and preferences. It's not an amazing solution, but it's certainly better than putting up with the constant issues and headaches of Indigo and Amazon.

#anime and manga #manga #Manga in Canada #Canada Manga #Manga buyers guide #manga buying guide

2 notes · View notes

ashxllbey · 2 years

Text

Starman - Poe Dameron x fem!reader - Chapter 18: Back In Black

GIF by found here, but not theirs

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Word count: ±15.3k Warnings: canon-typical violence, swearing, knife wounds (nothing graphic).

Y/N looked at her reflection. She sneered. Even in the old, blurry mirror Kit had in his room, she could see every detail of her outfit. The years hadn't erased them from her mind. How ironic - she wished they had, like the rest of it all. Her hair, tied into the two usual intricate braids, was topped with a third one, for once, making a crown out of her wavy strands. She had applied the makeup Klana had found - darkened eyes rimmed with black and winged out in a smokey, geometrical liner. Her lips were red and shiny as if coated in blood. And, of course - her outfit. The half plastron still fit her upper chest, metal shining under the room's dim light. Her right pauldron, as red as her lips, adorned the sigil of the order. They had purposely left the marks of battle untouched, a testimony of her work for Ren. One she could have gone without. The rest of the outfit was made of tight, fitted leather, thick enough to protect her from brutal weather or knives. On her forearms were her trusty bracelets. They went from her wrists to her elbows, metal protecting her limbs from attacks and her blade. She had tested the commands on her right bracelet earlier, and they worked perfectly. As for her weapons... The various straps on the armor were all occupied. Two knives in her boots, one on the left thigh, one on both arms. A dagger strapped to her back and the holster for her blaster hanging from her left side, its butt pointing forward. But, of course, the main attraction... her sword. It was powered down, resting inconspicuously against her right thigh. A simple blade, slightly thinner than the handle led to imagine. But it was made for the electro plasma energy filament and the force field it powered. Ren had made sure she could hold her own against a lightsaber if needed and had tested the function himself. She smiled unwillingly at the memory of that particular training. He had scared the living shit out of her that day. But now wasn't the time to think about that. As much as Y/N wanted to stay behind and think of happy memories, she was on a mission. She gulped down the bile in her throat. What would Poe think? What would they all think? With shaky hands, she tied the cape around her shoulders. Done. She could stall all she wanted but couldn't delay the inevitable any further. Might as well get it over with. She took a long breath in, then out. Then in again. The ritual she always went through whenever she had put the armor on. Raising her chin and straightening her shoulders, she marched out of the room, cape whipping at her heels. Once she was in the hallway, she could hear everyone's voices. Kit was seemingly talking about Gideon. She didn't catch Poe's answer, but she recognized his voice. There was no turning back now. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pushed forward and entered the room with confident steps that didn't match her state of mind at all. They fell silent, as expected. All of their eyes were on her. "Y/N," Klana gasped. "You look..." She trailed off, unsure. "Merciless. Like an angel of death," Kit finished. He wasn't wrong. But it wasn't his opinion Y/N wanted. Her eyes tentatively went to Poe. He hadn't said a word yet. When he noticed her staring, he leaned forward. She tensed, awaiting his judgment. "You really make red lipstick work," he stated with an approving nod. ...Wait. That was it? She noticed his eyes trailing up and down her silhouette as he took in her uniform, but he didn't comment on anything else. Kit stood up and walked up to her. "It's weird to see you wearing it without your mask on," he said with a smile. "For what it's worth, you look incredible. Like a Sith Lord, 'cept for the lightsaber. You'll have no problem convincing him to give you what you want. Hell, even I wouldn't want to get on your bad side." She laughed earnestly. "That's because you know I can kick your ass." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Okay, you two, the armors are in the room next door. Get dressed. As for you, Klana, you're leaving with Torro. Good luck out there. Watch your backs. " She gave him a stern nod and jumped to her feet, walking toward Y/N. "Hey. Be careful out here, okay? You've got this. " She hugged her friend briefly, and Y/N smiled. Yes, yes, she did. "Take my jacket. You're gonna freeze outside with nothing on your back. And it'll bring you luck. " "You sure you trust me with that? " "Yeah, go right ahead. Just don't put blood on it; it's a bitch to clean up. " Klana laughed but nodded, taking the piece of clothing from the chair it was on. She threw her code cylinder at Y/N, who caught it and put it in her belt, and off she went, Torro holding the door open before closing it behind them. She realized now she was pretty much alone in the room. Kit had gone to his room to change into something more casual; Poe and Skylen were in the guest room to get dressed. The apartment was quiet. Outside, Y/N could hear the occasional honk or clatter, but it was otherwise dead silent. She allowed herself to think about what was at stake. Poe's life was on the line. If they couldn't figure out who had put the bounty on his head, or better, have it canceled, he would be walking with a sword over his head, and she simply wouldn't have it. Not if she could help it. She knew all too well what it felt like to have the entire galaxy looking for you. She sighed and walked to the armory, finding it tidier than she would have thought and filled with ex-First Order weapons. Kit had undoubtedly raided the Finalizer before he had left. It was just their luck. She found a sharpening kit for her blades and sat down on the couch with it, making sure the knives were sharp and shining. Those gestures had become second nature to her, and she found herself drifting off, eyes staring in the distance as she recalled her years as a runaway. "UP! " She jolted awake as something hit the side of her bed in a metallic clatter. Her hand flew to her blaster, and she aimed it at the moving mass next to her before her eyes were even fully open, adrenaline shooting through her veins. Had they found her? Had they- "Dank Farrik! You don't need to point that at me, young lady. You were sleeping like a dead bantha; I couldn't wake you up. " Y/N rubbed her eyes and put the gun away with a grunt. "Sorry. Rough night. I was up 'til four with Alaric spying on the pirates. " The woman smiled. She was perhaps older than she should have been considering the life expectancy around here, but her mind was as sharp as ever. She handed Y/N a bowl of soup she almost burned her tongue off with. Herbs, as usual. At least, it meant the kids had eaten the meat they had brought back earlier that week. "You two are going to get into trouble, " she sighed. "I don't like that. If I was twenty years younger, I would fight you two, so you'd stay here. " Y/N gave her a throaty laugh. "I have no doubt you would. But you know they will never leave you alone if we don't get rid of them. " She pushed the bowl to the side and stood up, popping her back. Outside, the children were running and laughing. The day was sunny and warm, enough to make her skin tingle as the sunshine made its way inside the hut. There still was a hint of wind, so Y/N grabbed her leather jacket. "Just… Be careful. We have lost many to their wretched hands. " Y/N couldn't help it- she snorted. "I'll be damned if those scumbags are the ones who put me down. " "Language! " She laughed as she went out, grabbing her staff on the way out and putting it on her back. She waved at the two kids playing outside her door. "Marshall! Look at the shoes mom got me! They're so shiny! " "They're fantastic, Kalo. Hey, have you seen Alaric this morning? " The kids pointed at a hut nearby. "Yeah! I heard he found something in the forest. You should go talk to him! " "Marshall! Can you teach me how to fight when you're done with your work? " Y/N laughed, ruffling the kid's hair. "You're a bit young for that, honey. And your mom would kill me. " She bid them adieu and went on her merry way, waving at the townspeople she crossed paths with. It had been a few months since she had landed (okay, crashed) on that planet she couldn't remember the name of. The townspeople were at war with local pirates, and Y/N had offered her help for food and a roof over her head. She had become friends with several of them. They treated her kindly and didn't ask questions. She hadn't told them anything; it was better that way. When she stepped inside the hut, she found Alaric deep in discussion with the local nurse. His face lit up when Y/N stepped in. "Ah, you're here. You're gonna want to know about that. " He was older than her, probably old enough to be her father. Alaric was gruff and wasn't much of a talker. From what Y/N had gathered, one night he had had too much to drink, Alaric was an ex-rebel. He had lost his entire family to the war and had retired after Empire fell. Now, he was watching over his people, but it was a difficult task to do alone. The pirates were brutes, but they were well-armed and outnumbered them. They were chipping at their number, but it wasn't easy. Y/N had never seen Alaric so excited before, though. "Lily, tell her what you told me, " he encouraged. The young nurse nodded. "So, I was in the forest, trying to find herbs to take care of the kids. There's a flu going around the town. Anyway. I got to a clearing I had never seen before. I was going to turn around with the plants, and then I saw it… metal. Like, some sort of metallic part. " Alaric waved his hand to get her to talk faster. "I looked up and realized there was no grass. I climbed up some rocks and found a crevasse. And in it… There's a ship—a spaceship. One the Order uses. " Y/N's heart stopped. A TIE? They had found a TIE?! She sneaked a glance at Alaric, who merely nodded. He knew them all too well. "You told me you know how to fly. If that is true, I think we've just found our winning ticket. " The walk to the TIE had been longer than she had anticipated, and Y/N was glad she had Alaric with her to guide her because this forest was a damn maze, and the fuel on her back was weighing her down. Alaric carried some tools with him, and Y/N hoped whatever damages the TIE had suffered from could be fixed by her limited skills. When they reached the area, she realized the crevasse wasn't as deep or narrow as she had thought. Good. The wings were fragile; having them damaged would have been an issue. Instead, it seemed like the ship had crash-landed inside the mountain, finding itself stuck by its wing spars, which were entangled in vines. It appeared to have suffered limited injuries, and Y/N smiled. "The canons look intact. But we're gonna have to climb up here. " She put her jerrican of fuel down and started climbing the rock. The ship wasn't too high, but it was still too high for her to reach easily. She just hoped the vines could hold her weight. After a few minutes of grueling effort, she finally reached the top of the eyeball, which was upside down, and kicked the trapdoor open. The pilot was still inside, long gone. Judging by his uniform and the ship, he must have been serving at the beginning of the war. Y/N unclasped his safety belts and dragged his lifeless corpse to the opening. "Watch out! " She screamed at Alaric before ejecting the Buckethead. Judging by his smashed helmet lying on the floor and the blood on the seat, he had bled out on the spot. That was good for her. Trying to do her job upside down, Y/N bent backward, turning the ship on. She hit the ignition button- And the reactor roared to life. The low fuel alert was flashing on the screen, covered in dust, but it was working. "HELL YEAH! She's still alive! " "How's it going up here? " Alaric's voice asked, and Y/N put her head through the opening, hanging upside down with her hands against the ceiling. "According to the checkup that I ran? No critical damages! There's a bit of strain on the wings because of the vines. Fuel's low, too, but other than that, we should be good to go. I'm gonna need you to come up here, though. " Alaric cursed but did as he was told, bringing the fuel with him. Y/N filled the ship up as it dangerously swayed with the added weight. "Okay. I need you to take cover. I'm gonna turn the engines on to break the vines. It's gonna get heated in here. Be careful. " He gave her a thumb up and made his way down, hiding behind some rocks. Y/N hauled herself up, trying - and failing - to sit upside down in the pilot seat. Okay, well, she would have to improvise. With expert fingers, she turned on her engine, directed its power forward, and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing, " she mumbled as she tilted the joystick toward her. The engines roared, and the ship was catapulted upward, the vines holding it back for a second before giving out. Y/N was thrown against the wall as the TIE rose toward the sky. With great effort, as it slowed down, she kicked the buttons to the side, activating the auxiliary motors that stabilized the ship with its head up. This sent her against the floor, and she hit it with full force, her ribs crying in protest as she pushed herself up. Good thing nobody had seen that. With grunts of pain, she sat in the pilot seat and made her way down the planet's surface, landing the TIE in the clearing Lily had told them about. Alaric was quick to join her. "Son of a blaster! Never thought I'd be this happy to see one of those! " He screamed at her when she powered the ship down. Y/N laughed. "Yeah, me neither. Come on, come inside; I'll fly us both to the village. Tonight, we get rid of those scumbags. " "Hey, Y/N, uh… Mind giving me a hand? " Poe's voice asked, taking her out of her reverie. She liked that memory, even though that day hadn't been a happy one. Y/N had left that night after killing the pirates, taking the ship with her. Such a vessel would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention, and she didn't want to endanger anyone. They were still after her. Shaking away the memories, she stood up and put the kit where she had found it as she made her way toward the room Skylen and Poe had disappeared into. She knocked politely and pushed the door open. Poe was sitting on the guest's best, his armor on, but it was clear to Y/N that something was amiss. The parts weren't where they were supposed to be. A look around the room and the sound of water told her Skylen was under the shower. Poe's hair was damp as he had already taken his. "Yeah? " "Do you have experience with this thing? I can't figure out how they kriffing tie everything up. " She laughed and sat down on the bed with him. His pants and lower body armor were correctly attached; that was a start. "Yeah. It's a bitch to get right the first time. I'll give you a hand. Just… Don't move. " She got started on his arm pieces, fingers working quickly and efficiently. He stayed silent and still, watching her work. "It's not too tight? " She eventually asked. He shook his head no. "Nah, funnily enough, it's my size. Kit either got very lucky, or he was planning to have me wearing this. " She giggled. Kit had always been a lucky guy, in more ways than one. "You'd make a good death trooper, though. Looking good in black, General." Poe snorted. "Don't laugh at me. It looks better on you. " He appeared to realize his mistake when Y/N's hands stopped for a second. "Kriff, I didn't mean to- " "It's… it's okay. You know, I actually like the armor," Y/N added as she moved to the chest piece. "I hate what it stands for, yes. But the craftsmanship? How it fits me? I like that. Kylo made sure I was comfortable. He did a great job. " "Can't argue with that. " She smiled. "I make evil look good, don't I? " Poe considered it for a second, his eyes searching her face. Kriff. He had a way of looking at her that guaranteed she would be ill at ease. "I'm not saying you're right, just... if Ren had looked like you, the First Order wouldn't have had to torture the information out of me. " Y/N burst out laughing. "Yes, they would have! You'd never give BeeBee up! I'll tell him you said that. " "No, you won't. " "Yes, I will! How dare you speak about your child like that? You know what, I think I'll take full custody of him. He'll live with me, be fed quality oil, and-" …Oh, no. Y/N had just made a BIG mistake. She fell silent and stopped moving as Poe's eyes went wide. "It was YOU?! Maker, Y/N! Do you have ANY idea how hyper he was?! Took him twelve hours to get down his high! I had to manually power him down! " "Hey, that was my way to thank him for looking after me! " She tried to defend herself, but Poe merely groaned. She couldn't hold back her laugh and snickered as she attached the last pieces together. "He deserves all of the love. He's been so kind to me ever since I came here. " Poe smiled to himself. "That's because you're nice to him. Not because he's my droid, but because that's what you do. He knows. And he appreciates it. You should've heard him fanboying about your run against Tarsen. " She laughed. Spending time with Poe was precisely the break she needed before her big mission. He had a way of making people feel good about themselves. She found herself staring into his eyes. He was a bit tired and worried, and she was surprised to realize how easy it was to read those things about him. Had she become fluent in speaking Poe Dameron's language? "You're staring. " She jumped back. "Sorry! I… Sorry. I'm done. It's correctly secured. You're just missing the helmet, and you'll be good to go. " He observed her for a second and didn't say anything. "You're more jumpy than usual. And I'm not just talking about the mission. Are you sure you're feeling okay? Is it about what happened in the cantina-" Oh, MAKER NO- "Alright! You kids ready? " She had NEVER BEEN happier to see Skylen in her life. Or glad she would have an excuse to be someone else for a little while and forget about everything else. "Yeah! I'll go and see if Kit is, too. " She stood up, cape whipping at her heels, and walked out of the room without a second glance. As she pushed the door, she heard Skylen asking: "Maker, what did you say to the poor girl?" And prayed Poe wouldn't say anything. It turned out Kit was ready as he stepped out of his room. He had changed into more formal clothes, with a simple shirt, some fitted slacks, and a leather jacket thrown over his plastron. His helmet would stay there, though. "You guys ready to head out? " He asked as he put his blaster in a holster. Y/N nodded, and the two pilots joined them in the living room, helmets on, carrying automatic rifles. Kit gave an approving nod. "Alright. It's showtime. We'll take the shuttle. " He stepped toward the door, but Y/N's voice stopped him. "Kit. Got some Jawa juice on hand? " Kit walked back inside the room with a quizzical look, opened a cabinet, and grabbed a bottle by its neck. He handed it to Y/N, and she opened it, took a swing from it, and gave it back. Kit stared in silence. "Trust me, if you want me to do the job, I better have some of that in my system. " He chuckled lowly and put the bottle back where he had found it. Y/N glanced around the room. The two troopers stood behind her, guns in hand. They looked perfect, their sleek armors shining under the led lights. Y/N gave them a sharp nod. "Let's get this over with. " With a practiced flick of her wrist, she pulled the hood of her cape up, and out they went, back into the narrow alleys. It took them half an hour to make it to the city center. Kit had to leave the shuttle outside the city; from there, it was a ten minutes walk. The sun had started to set, but it didn't matter - the town was busier than Y/N had anticipated. The streets were gloomy, narrow, and decorated with so many signs, lights, and street vendors that they looked like a less high version of Coruscant's ill-famed neighborhoods. Everything around here screamed "mafia "to her. It was apparent they had built themselves a small bubble of modernity and power on a planet that initially had none of that. The death troopers drew a lot of attention as they walked between the shops, the flashy neon lights catching every angle of their armors. Eventually, Kit stopped in front of a building. There were speeders parked next to the door and various creatures hanging around them. A thick cloud of smoke hung in the air, and Y/N was convinced she had seen the glow of death sticks in one of the thug's hands. "This is the place. Radio communications are jammed inside, so we won't be able to contact the others. Once we're in, we're on our own. Are you ready for this, Y/N? " Her head whipped to the side. When she spoke up, her voice had grown a tad lower. "It's Captain to you, Lieutenant. Did you forget your manners on the shuttle? " Kit grinned. "There she is. " Squaring her shoulders, Y/N walked past the thugs without sparing them a second glance and stepped inside, not bothering to turn around and check if the rest of them was following. The club looked precisely like the ones on Coruscant. A massive bar in the middle, flashy lights everywhere, neons coloring the room, and glasses of alcohol everywhere. There were smaller booths here and there, some with walls around them, some without. In some spots, huge glass tubes protruded from the ground, with half-naked women dancing languidly. A low, bass-boosted tune had the ground shaking. Down a flight of translucent stairs, they could access the underground area. As she took a glance, Y/N noticed there was a pit down there. Probably made to host illegal fights- Her observation was cut short by two guards. Armed to the teeth, both of them humans, they blocked her view and her path. "Stop right here. Guards aren't allowed inside. " Kit stepped forward with a smile on his face. "Relax, Drogo. They're with me. I'm here to see Gideon. " One of them - Drogo - pursed his lips and shook his head. "Sorry, Kit. Rules are rules. If she wants to have a drink here, they stay outside. " Y/N took a step forward. "I don't think you've listened. We're here to see your boss. " The guard sighed. "Listen, lady. That's one more reason to not let you come in with these two-" The sound of guns getting cocked made him turn his head, and Y/N raised her hand, signaling for Poe and Skylen to stand down. On the inside, she smiled. They were good pretenders. "Drogo, was it? " She interrupted. He fell silent. She took her hood off and stared him dead in the eyes. "Let me be clear. Where I go, they go. And I will get in with my guards. So you can be a doll and show us the way, or I can break your neck and find it myself. I'll let you make a choice. " She smiled. Oh, she had pissed him off. Hopefully, not enough to start a bloodbath so early in the mission. The guard clenched his jaw, and his hand moved toward his blaster. "Who exactly do you think-" Y/N pushed her cape aside, revealing her pauldron with the First Order's sigil and the hilt of her sword. "She's not joking, my dude. And I promise we won't be long. " He looked at Kit, then back at Y/N, and finally stepped back with a long sigh. "Get out of my sight. " She nodded, winked, and walked away. Kit quickly joined her side as she reached an empty booth. "You trying to get us killed so soon? " "It worked, didn't it? " He snorted. They sat down, with the fake troopers on both sides of them. A skimpy-dressed Togruta came to take their order, but Y/N sent her away. "Where is Gideon? " She asked Kit as the music changed. The pilot took a look around. "I don't see his guards. He's probably still in his office. It won't take long; he's usually punctual. " Y/N nodded and took the opportunity to look around the club. The backdoor was guarded, but she could see it from where she was, which was good. She hoped Klana and Torro hadn't run into any trouble, but they would have heard about it if they had, wouldn't they? The music got quieter suddenly, and the crowd turned to the other side of the club, where a red Devaronian stood. Dressed in a long leather jacket with two blasters on his hips. His horns, shiny and pointy, menacingly stood as he stepped out of what must have been his office. "Hello, my friends! I hope you're enjoying your night. Drink, dance, and don't forget that tonight, we're having our Sunday special. Get ready for the show later tonight!" The crowd of partygoers cheered for him and made way for him and his bodyguards. The two guards stopped him, whispered something in his ear, and waved in her direction. "We've been spotted," Kit stated casually. Great. The sooner they met with Gideon, the sooner they'd be out of here. Y/N didn't look away, watching as the Devaronian made his way toward their table. He stopped a server on the way here, barked some orders at her, and went on his merry way. When he finally reached the booth they were at, he found Y/N with her arms sprawled over the back of the couch, an unimpressed look on her face. "Kit! Long time no see. Rumor has it you had your hands full with a bounty on Coruscant. How's business treating you? " "You know me, " he shrugged. "I can handle whatever is thrown at me. I'm not here for more pucks, though. " Gideon's eyes went to Y/N, and he eyed her up and down. "Yes, I can see that. Who's your friend? " He said, sitting down across them. Y/N stared back at him. "You can call me Y/N. " He repeated her name a few times and shot her a toothy smile. Eventually, after a few seconds, he extended his hand for her to shake. She complied, and he brought her hand to his lips, kissing it. Seriously, what even was this guy? "Care to tell me why someone dressed as a First Order officer is in my club with two death troopers?" Gideon asked Kit. The Devaronian didn't sound pissed, rather curious, and the bounty hunter shrugged. "She has something to ask you; she's here on business. I can vouch for her, too. But she didn't tell me what she wants, so you're gonna have to talk it up with her. " Here, he had cracked the door of the negotiations open. Gideon hummed. "Is that so? Tell me… It's been a long time since I last saw someone like you around. Your kind is almost extinct. I don't notice any rank on your uniform, but I recognize that sword. Who are you exactly, Miss Y/N? " She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. Gideon towered over her by at least twenty centimeters, so she had to crane her neck a little. Maker, she was going to be stiff-necked by the end of the night. "Thunderbird. Captain Y/N Thunderbird. If you're half as good as Kit mentioned, that must be enough for you to know who I am. " She consciously started playing with the hem of her cape, patiently waiting as he mulled over her word. The server returned with drinks and put them on the table as Gideon nodded thoughtfully. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Last time I heard, you were in exile after you'd betrayed the Order. " That was… yeah, okay, he was well-informed. Y/N shrugged. "I'm glad to hear that rumor spread around. No, I wasn't in exile. I was on a mission. I've been for a while now. " Technically, she wasn't lying; she had been on a mission… to get the hell off the Order's radar. Gideon smiled and took a sip from his colorful drink with a shrug. "I have to say, I always wondered who was the woman under the armor. Makes sense it was you… " He toyed with the edge of his drink as Kit grabbed his, taking a sip from the cocktail. As for Y/N, she didn't make a move to grab it. She just stared at Gideon, waiting for his next move. He hadn't asked about her business here yet. Perhaps he was just biding his time, but she wasn't convinced. She felt Kit's free hand on her knee under the table and realized she had started to move her leg as she waited. Fortunately, Gideon didn't seem to have noticed. "There's still one issue, though. " Ah, here it was. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Poe tensing up. She smiled, crossing her fingers in front of her and resting her chin on them. "Oh, is there, now? " He hummed, downing the rest of the glass and sliding it to the side. "Yes. Nobody has seen or heard from you in years, and you show up to my club with two troopers, with an armor I haven't seen in years, worn by someone nobody has seen the face of. Forgive me for being a bit suspicious. " Ah, so Kit had been correct in his assumption. She leaned back against the couch. "Understandable. " She went to grab her code cylinder, but both of Gideon's guards raised their guns, which caused both Poe and Skylen to raise theirs. Y/N chuckled. "They a little trigger-happy, huh? Easy there, I'm not grabbing a gun. " She produced the tiny cylinder from her belt and pushed it toward Gideon, who picked it up. "Here you go. " The Devaronian picked it up and handed it to one of his guards, who disappeared behind the bar. He came back a few moments later, whispering something in his ear. Gideon nodded. "Story checks out. I'm still not convinced, though. " Kit groaned audibly. "Seriously? We served together for years. You have her cylinder. Do you want a DNA test or somethin'? " Y/N raised her hand to silence him. "I understand the caution. But you're asking many things, and I don't even know if you have what I'm looking for. I wouldn't appreciate you wasting my time. I've proven my goodwill, but I won't humor you any further if you don't do the same. Sounds fair to you? " He laughed earnestly. "Ha! You're smart. Okay. I don't need you to tell me anything, though. I know why you're here. " Y/N snorted and turned to Kit, who watched the exchange in silence. "You didn't tell me your friend was a psychic. " He rolled her eyes at her but smiled. Gideon shook his head. "I wish. No. It's easy to understand the reason behind your presence, though. A bounty issued on a Rebel, reports about his presence in the sector, and an Imperial officer pops up here. You're after the General. " It was hilarious to listen to that, considering the said General was standing literally a few meters from them. Y/N knew he must have been laughing behind his helmet. She smiled. "You're smart. Yes. I'm here about Dameron. " Realizing she wouldn't touch her drink, Gideon grabbed it and drank the second cocktail. Well. At least it wasn't poisoned. "Then, chances are I have the information you're looking for. " "How can I be sure of that? " "You're just gonna have to trust me, " he answered with a laugh. So he wouldn't budge. What had Kit told her? He liked money, power, and a good show. If he wanted money, he would have asked already. She had given him the power of knowledge, so there was only one thing he could want from her… Ah, she didn't like where this was going. Gideon must have sensed it because he grinned smugly at her. "Alright, I'll bite. What is it that you want me to do? Clearly, there must be a way for me to put your worries at ease. Then, we can talk business. " He seemed to be thinking about it for a second, but Y/N was sure he already knew what he would ask of her. Her impression was confirmed when Kit leaned forward. "C'mon, Gideon. I know you know what you want already. Let's get it over with. We don't have all night, eh? " He turned to Kit, and for a second, Y/N was sure he had said something wrong. His smile faded away, replaced by a frown. "You seem in a rush, Kit. Something the matter? " True to himself, Kit kept his cool and merely shrugged. "Listen, my guy, you're fun and all, but she ain't in town often, and I would hate to spend the night here with y'all. If you know what I mean." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Y/N had to physically stop herself from rolling her eyes. Seriously? He had to go there? She smiled regardless, feeling someone's eyes on the side of her face. Poe's. Yikes. But the Devaronian, being the pig he was, merely snorted. "Ah, yes. I wouldn't want to keep you kids busy for too long. Well, you see, Miss Y/N, I pride myself on two things: being true to my word and providing my patrons with quality shows. I was going to have two gamorreans fighting tonight, but it would be much more entertaining to have you instead, hm? After all, if you are who you pretend to be, and this sword truly belongs to you, then you should have no problem handling yourself, shouldn't you? " He… He wanted to see her FIGHT?! Yes, of course, his reasoning was correct. Y/N had to give it to him; he was smart, which wasn't to her advantage. Sure, she could handle herself… But it had been years since she had last used that sword. She could feel Poe losing his mind next to her. This wasn't what she had signed up for. Being used as the freakshow of the night. But hey, if that was what it took, then so be it. "I don't know if that's a good idea, " she started, leaning back casually. "After all, I would hate for you to throw me out because I mangled half of your men. " Gideon laughed. "You're cocky. We'll see how you handle yourself on the ring. Come on, let's go. I'm actually excited to see how it plays out. " They rose from their seats, and Y/N followed after him, purposely ignoring both Kit and Poe's eyes on her. Her focus was already on her upcoming fight. She had to win. If not for her sake, for Poe's. And if not for Poe's… For Ren's, who would kick her ass from beyond the grave if she dishonored his teaching like that. Poe was losing his kriffing mind. Why? Why did she say yes? And why didn't Kit look at least worried for her? Wow, leaving him had been the best decision she had made in her life- Skylen elbowed him slightly, and he realized last second he had almost walked into a drunk partygoer. He had to focus. But how could he be focused on pretending to be a bodyguard when the person he was supposed to protect was risking her life? Maker, it was simpler for him to do his job when she wasn't here. They followed Gideon to the club's lower level, and he told Kit to sit down while he took Y/N backstage. Before she followed him, she gave her partner in crime her cape, letting the armor shine under the neon lights, then nodded and disappeared. Poe dashed to Kit's side as he took his spot on the couch. "What the hell are you doing? " He hissed from behind his helmet. Kit didn't turn to him, but he moved his head slightly to the side. "Letting her do her job, Dameron. You should try it sometimes. " Oh, he was SO punching him after all of this was over. What did Y/N even see in that guy?! He did a quick assessment of the room. Many armed guards, some getting ready for a fight. Okay. She wasn't going against random people; those were hired mercenaries. There was one of her and too many of them. She knew what she was doing, but the odds weren't in her favor. "They're her opponents? " He asked. He needed confirmation. Kit nodded slightly. "Yeah, looks like it. " And he still didn't look worried in the slightest. Skylen leaned forward too. "Listen, I'm all about letting her do her thing and all, but this isn't looking too good. " "If I could go and take her place, I would. But trust me, she is our best shot at getting the information we need. " Trust him? Oh, yeah, sure. Poe bit back the sarcastic comeback he wanted to hurl at his face. Instead, he checked his gun. "If they hurt her, I'm going out there. " And Kit- Laughed. What the actual- He turned to the pilot, a grin on his face. "Maker, you genuinely have NO idea who you hired, do you? " He chuckled to himself as the referee stepped out of the ring. The crowd gathered around the ring, hungry for some blood. Poe didn't listen to his speech. He was mulling over Kit's words. He was right. He had no idea. And he genuinely wanted to know. Maybe Kit was correct. Perhaps he needed to trust her. "I worry for her too, Dameron, " Kit mumbled. "You have no idea how fucking stressed she had me every time Ren called for her. But I've seen her walk through hell and back. I used to joke with her, telling her she'd make one helluva Sith. You'll see what I mean in a moment. Trust the process. I bet my right hand she's gonna kick all of their asses. " Okay. Yeah, okay. He'd better be right. Shiiiit. There were a LOT of people. The roars of the crows were deafening. They were out for blood. The lights were on, shining brightly on the ring. Faint smears of blood painted the floor, and Y/N knew before the referee even announced it that the fights wouldn't stop until one of them was dead or severely knocked out. Okay. The pilot didn't have to pull back. Before she stepped on the ring, she handed her blaster to Kit, as per the rules. No gun. Just knives and fists. She would manage. Blasters were so uncivilized anyway. She heard the referee say her name but didn't register it. Standing in a corner, she focused on her breathing, as Kylo had taught her. Focus. Focus. She searched for Poe's eyes behind the crowd, behind the helmet. She knew he could see her. She winked. "Let the fight BEGIN! " Two guards were against her, armed with vibrodaggers. They looked between themselves, trying to understand if they should push forward or not, considering Y/N still didn't have her blade in hand. They took a tentative step. Y/N grabbed the hilt of her sword, unhooking it from her belt, biding her time. They shared another look of uncertainty, and then, electrified by the crowd's cheers, they pushed forward. Y/N turned the blade on. The hum of the microfilament vibrated through her hand as the red blade crackled to life. It hadn't changed a bit. It was just like she remembered it to be. Years of training and fights had forever engraved the feel of the weapon in her palm. Focus, Y/N, said Ren's voice in her head, coming from her past. Yes, Master, she'd answer. One step. Two steps. They attacked. The first one raised his blade above his head to hit her, and the other went to strike her legs. With little to no effort, Y/N leaped forward, plunging headfirst into the spot between the two, rolling on her back, and standing back up behind them. Their blade hit the air, and she smiled. They were strong, but she was way faster than them. She swung her sword around her wrist with practiced spins, showing off a little. They were quick to turn around. "Oh, you're gonna have to do better than that, " she taunted. They did. The first one threw one of his blades at her, and Y/N spun to the side, only to be stopped by the second one. Their weapons clashed in a metallic clatter, the electricity in hers buzzing close to her ear. She grinned and pressed the side of the hilt with her thumb, sending a shock through the metal. The man recoiled in surprise, and she took advantage of it, slashing his wrist and making him drop his blade- Something moved in her peripheral vision. Without even thinking, she swung her blade right in time to divert the dagger that had been thrown her way. Two points for her. Okay, this was too easy- The guy on the ground produced a smaller knife from his boot and hurled it at her. Y/N didn't have time to move away; it hit her plastron, bouncing off with a ping. She grimaced. "You assholes are going to ruin the paint job. " He snarled and stood back up, blood dripping on the floor in tiny droplets. Truth be told, Y/N could have killed both of them with a throwing knife, but she was pretty sure that wasn't what Gideon wanted. She had never fought for a show before but had seen some… She would entertain them if it meant getting the information she needed… Besides, they weren't real threats. At least not for now. "My turn, " she threw their way with a smile. She parried the first guy's attack with her blade, spinning on herself out of his reach and elbowing him square in the face. As he recoiled in pain, she dodged the other one's attack by ducking, rolled out of the way before he could react, and slashed the back of his knees, making blood gush out of the wounds and making him fall down yelping. The crowd gasped as she hit him across the face with her metallic gauntlet, and he fell down, knocked out cold. She threw one of her knives with practiced accuracy, knocking the one the other guy had picked up from his hand. Defenseless, he didn't have time to react as she sent a roundhouse kick his way, hitting him in the jaw. Heh. Y/N would have to thank Poe for teaching her that move. Calmly, Y/N picked up her knife and cleaned her powered-down sword from the blood on it. Then she turned to Gideon. "Is that the best you can give me? " She shouted his way, arms extended. It was apparent provocation on her part, but he didn't seem to mind. Quite the contrary, he grinned and gestured for another guard to step in the two's place. It was a woman, around her age, with a single sword- wait, no, it was a katana of some sort. She was slimmer than the two guys (dragged out of the ring by some of their colleagues) and bid her time, observing Y/N. She didn't have any throwing knife she could see; glorious. Finally, she stepped forward, slicing across the length of her body. Y/N blocked it quickly, but she knew it was a test. One she could have failed if she hadn't seen the flickering sparkle in the woman's other hand. Y/N raised her gauntlet, and her smaller blade hit it. She smiled. "Nice try. "

Y/N pushed on her sword and forced her to step back as she attacked. Hit by hit, she made her opponent step closer to the edge of the fighting space, relentlessly hitting her with her blade. She evaded the blows, though barely; when they reached the ropes of the ring, the other woman used their momentum to swoop past Y/N, and the pilot barely had time to spin her sword, raising it behind her back. It clashed against her opponent's blade, saving her right on time from a nasty blow. She couldn't, however, avoid the hit that came right after, and she was slapped across the face, losing her balance temporarily as her head rung and the world spun for a second. Ah, she wasn't half bad. Perhaps it was time to stop playing. She recovered from the hit right on time to avoid another attack, parrying it swiftly. Her vision was a bit blurry, but at least she wasn't seeing two of her, so there was a bright side. Still, she would have a bruise the following day. Ah, whatever. Time to change her tactics, though. Hoping her body would cooperate, she bid her time, avoiding the attacks that came her way while stepping back slightly. She found herself two steps away from her opponent; perfect. The guard slashed in her direction horizontally, stepping forward, and- Y/N jumped. She took one step and propelled herself upward, spinning sidewards in the air for a second before sticking a quite wobbly landing. Welp. Fair enough. The other woman, surprised, didn't react fast enough to avoid Y/N's sword slashing her back. Y/N spun the blade in her hand and hit her across the face with a nasty blow. The woman fell to her knees, unable to get back up. 2 - 0. The crowd's ruckus was growing impossibly louder as they understood precisely the ride they were in for. Credits went from hands to hands, people were raising their glasses, and the light caught on various pieces of clothing as the spectators moved around excitingly. It was too loud, too bright, too much. Her head was pounding from the overload of sensory triggers and the hit she had received. How many rounds would she have to go through before Gideon was entertained enough to grant her an audience? Kriff, Poe owed her one. As she pranced around, playing her "cocky officer "role to the best of her abilities, she heard the referee call for the last fighter of the round. Great! Just one more to go- "Ah. Fuck. " Here he stood, the guard she had all but insulted earlier, with light armor on and his hand firmly holding a resonator mace. The two clubs were powered down, but it looked ominous enough to have Y/N focus. She spun her blade, observing him. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Kit leaning forward when the lights were kind enough to point away and give her a window to actually see her friends. He didn't look too confident. Welp. If Kit was stressed out, it meant the guard -Drogo- would give her a run for her money. They had undoubtedly saved the best fighter for last, and the mere sight of his weapon (which wasn't easy to master, she recalled) was enough of a warning. The referee yelled out his catchphrase, and the fight started. Drogo was savvier than the others. He wasn't watching her blade but her body. He had, undoubtedly, been trained in melee fights—just her luck. But, hey, he hadn't been Ren's student, right? She could take him. When he pounced on her, she ducked out of the way right before he hit her. Kriff! He was fast and robust. That was a bad combo for her. Also, that weapon of his could trap her blade; she had to be careful. She tested his defense by spinning around and making her weapon clash against his, her arms groaning under the effort as he pushed back. The hits flew around like a flock of X-Wing at full speed, and she had to focus hard to follow the dance. Parry, parry, duck, step aside, attack, slash. The precision of her movements and her attacks' speed made Drogo retreat toward the edge of the ring. He was starting to lose focus, and Y/N thanked her mentor for spending so much time building her stamina. She landed a couple of hits on his arms, not enough to overpower him but enough to make him lose focus. And then- She screwed up. It was bound to happen at some point- she was so busy trying to put on a good show, pretending she wasn't rusted up by years of absence of training, and trying not to die, that Y/N forgot the first observation she had made… …Her blade could get caught. And it did.

Drogo angled his mace right as she slashed forward, catching the sword between the two clubs precisely as he powered them up. He tried to yank the blade from her hands, but Y/N followed it, not trying to untangle it forcefully but rather trying to free it naturally. And she managed to do it, the two powered-up weapons separating- She realized too late she had let her guard down. He hit her square in the chest with the mace. While her armor took the brunt of the hit and protected her from the electricity, it sent her flying. She hit the ground and tumbled down, her ribs screaming in protest. They had suffered enough of a hit the day prior, and Y/N was still healing. Her fall knocked the wind out of her, and she saw stars. The lights above her were dancing, her vision was blurry again, and Y/N tried to catch her breath. At least she hadn't lost her sword- A shadow moved above her. She rolled out of the way right on time to avoid a deadly hit from above as he smashed the mace against the ground. She tried to get up, but he lunged at her with the tip of the buzzing weapon, and she fell back to her knees with a wince. Ah, shit, it wasn't looking too good. She raised her blade to block a hit, but the fall had weakened her, and her damn shoulder failed her. The sword was kicked out of her reach, and she found herself weaponless. Welp. Fortunately for her, no amount of strength could compensate the weight of a mace like that, and their difference in speed allowed her to recover and finally stand up, jumping to her feet. Her chest was hurting really badly, and she was pretty sure it would be bruised as hell the following day; she struggled to breathe, and her arms were killing her. But she would be damned if she gave up now. So she grabbed two blades from her stash, falling into a defensive stance with her two daggers raised. She couldn't outsmart him, but she could outmaneuver him. Summoning her last ounces of strength, she waited for the mace to miss its mark before she ducked underneath it and slashed at his arms, coming closer to his body with the shortness of the blades. It was risky; if he caught her, she was as good as dead. He left her no time to pause and didn't give her a break. She eyed the discarded sword; it wasn't too far away from her but still too distant to grab it. If only she could activate the- Drogo had anticipated her attack and his arm blocked her dagger, kicking it out of her grasp. She didn't have time to grab another one; he was already attacking again. She couldn't hear the crowd anymore- only the blood rushing to her ears. She had to find a way out. Wait… she had an idea. One she hoped wouldn't give Poe a heart attack. She let him kick the second blade out of her hand. After such a long fight, having her defenseless was bound to get him to relax a bit, and that was precisely what happened. Y/N pretended to fall back until her back was -quite literally- against the wall, or rather, the ropes. She had nowhere to go… …But the sword was on her right side. As Drogo raised the mace to hit her with it, she grinned. He frowned but didn't react fast enough. Y/N pressed a button on her gauntlet, and the blade flew toward her, summoned by the magnetic pull. She grabbed the hilt and raised the sword right on time to parry Drogo's hit, the strength of it making the tip of the blade hit her other gauntlet. But it also made Drogo lose his grip, and Y/N slashed at his arm before he could recover. The mace fell to the side, and she hurriedly kicked her opponent's legs. Drogo landed on his back, desperately crawling to get his weapon, but Y/N stopped him with the tip of hers, pressing the buzzing blade to his throat. She wasn't hurting him, but should he move at all, he'd be dead before he raised his hand. She hoped it wouldn't come to that. The crowd was deafeningly loud around them, chanting and screaming and booing. As for Y/N, she was dead silent, her chest heaving with effort as she tried to catch her breath. It hurt to breathe. It burned everywhere; she needed a drink. Her eyes were on Drogo, but she could feel Poe's glaze on the back of her skull. "Alright, alright!" Gideon's voice boomed. "We have a clear winner. Now, what is it that you want to see?" A chorus of incoherent chants rose from the mass, and then, their words became more evident. "Kill him! Kill him!" Were these people for real?! A hint of fear appeared in her opponent's eyes. Y/N didn't look away, and her blade didn't move either. Gideon silenced the crowd and stood up, attracting everyone's attention. Y/N glanced up at him as the silence settled. "It looks like the crowd has spoken. End him." What? No! She looked down at Drogo. He wasn't saying anything, but he was livid. He had done nothing wrong.

Y/N had killed people, yes. Captain Thunderbird had killed people while she executed orders, but this was different. She wasn't that person. And she had never taken a life freely. Still, she knew it was a test. She knew Gideon wasn't kidding. If she refused, she could very much ruin the mission. But if she carried through the order, she wouldn't be able to live with herself, let alone face Poe. She dropped the blade. "Nah. I don't think so." The suspicion was evident on the host's face, and his guards made subtle moves, grabbing their guns. Y/N knew she had to tread lightly, now. "I thought the infamous fighter you are would have no issue following orders. Did you grow a soul while you were on your mission?" She laughed. "Oh, no. I don't care about him. But there are only two men I've ever willingly taken orders from. One of them is in this room... and it's not you." And she very obviously turned in her friends' direction, sending a wink she knew he would think was for Kit. It wasn't.

Kriffing hell. She was going to be the death of him. First of all, he wasn't convinced Ren didn't have a tiny teeny thing for her because he wouldn't have dressed her like that if he didn't. As much as it pained him to think it out loud, Kit had been right. She was terrifyingly skilled with that blade of hers. They never stood a chance. He did jump a bit when she had lost it, though. Then, he had smiled like an idiot when she had grinned and pressed the button, calling it back to her. The face of the goon had been priceless. Still, Poe would clench his jaw whenever someone hit her, and he had to use every ounce of his self-restraint to stop himself from jumping on the ring with her. But now that she had won, dodged Gideon's request and managed to stay in character while doing so... Kriff, okay, he was proud of her. And grateful for the helmet because he was smiling like an idiot. With her skin glossy under the neon lights, a bright smile on her face, she had turned to them and- She had winked. What? Okay. It was him she had winked at, right? Not Kit. Well, it was supposed to look like it was for Kit, but it wasn't, right? Because she took orders from him, not that idiot. And she had been the one giving him orders anyway back in the day, so he wasn't too sure what she could mean by that if she was actually winking at him- Okay, no, actually, he had an idea, and he would try his best not to think about it because, ew. No. But- Kriff. Okay. She had been winking at him. She was a damn tease. Poe knew he wasn't thinking straight. But no one could blame him. After the days they had had... and what had happened in the cantina... He had tried to talk to her about it, but the way she had looked at him made him glad Skylen had interrupted. Was she embarrassed? Had he gone too far? He had made sure to be mindful, but he might have gotten carried away. Was that the reason why she was nervous around him now? Was she even really nervous around him and not just focused on the mission? Ah, Dank Farrik, he felt like a teenager again. Being trapped in that armor, doing nothing but emulating a potted plant - which he hated, by the way - not the plant but its emulation - gave him a plethora of occasions to drift off in his thoughts. That wasn't wise. Y/N climbed down, making her way toward them with a calculated slowness. It gave Kit plenty of time to bitter Gideon up. "I'd warned ya," he laughed. The mob boss snickered. "You did." He watched her thoughtfully, spinning something in his hands. The damn helmet made it difficult to see what it was. Probably something of no importance. "It's too bad she's here with you," he said. "A woman like that... I'm sure we could get along. She's a feisty one." Okay, now, Poe wanted to punch him. Skylen tensed up by his side, and so did Kit. His pursed lips quickly relaxed into a smirk, and he took a sip of his drink to hide his clenched jaw. As much as Poe disliked him, he had to admit he was a good actor. "My man, she'd break you in half in less than an hour. It takes a special kind of man to handle her." He snuck a glance at Poe. On that, they could agree. He leaned forward. "Also... she's coming home with me tonight. Don't forget that." The joke did nothing to hide the thinly veiled threat in his voice. Gideon laughed. "Alright, I got the message. She's all yours." No, she was her own person, thank you very much- "I hope you boys didn't miss me too much," Y/N's voice interrupted. With a grin, she sat down on Kit's lap, and if Poe weren't staring at her, he would have missed how she tensed up while doing so. But Kit, being the respectful man she had argued he was, put his hand on her back. ...That was his spot.

"That was a kriffing good show you put, Princess," Kit said. Y/N shrugged. "It was no big deal." Truth be told, it was. They had gotten way too close to a bloodbath. Y/N's heart was still hammering in her chest, and Kit's hand on her back did nothing to help. It made her feel awkward. Far from the effect Poe had on her. He was just so... soothing. He gave her her blaster and cape back, and Y/N put them back in their place, lazily waiting for Gideon to speak up. He was merely observing the two of them. "It appears you were telling the truth. And you have thoroughly entertained my crowd. " Oh, yeah, so glad to hear that. "As enjoyable as the workout was, it's not why I'm here, " she simply answered. Gideon nodded. "Yes… I suppose it's not. Come with me. " He took his time, walking toward a raised area with a small staircase. Probably a VIP area, as the booth's walls were higher than the others. It would provide them with some intimacy and mean she would be trapped should things go awry. Ah, no, it would go smoothly; she was sure of it. Although Gideon wasn't too pleased, judging by the face he was making, he let the two troopers stand watch outside the door with his own guards. However, he turned to Kit. "Get yourself a drink; this is between the two of us. You know I don't talk business in front of people that aren't involved. " He glanced at Y/N, and she gave him a quick nod. He was displeased. "Alright, alright. I'll wait outside. " With one last long look, Kit stood up and walked away. Y/N could sense his worry from where she stood. She shared it, to some extent, but Kit had never been the witness of her wits in action. With her friends standing watch outside of the booth, too far to be able to jump in should something go wrong, she was pretty much alone. But hadn't she proved she was capable of defending herself? In a rather flashy manner, nonetheless? They settled down on the plush seats of the booth. Y/N leaned back against the back of the couch, legs propped on the table, her boots shining under the dim lights. Gideon leaned forward and offered her a cigarette. Y/N never smoked; she hated the smell of it. But she knew it would add to her mysterious aura and badass vibes, so she grabbed it gingerly. Putting it between her lips, she let the Devaronian light it. The flicker of the flame vanished as quickly as it had been summoned; a small cloud of smoke went up in the air, hiding her face in a blurry mass for a second. She exhaled, and it went away, swirling into emptiness. "Alright, alright. I guess you've held up your end of the bargain. What is it you want to know?" Gideon asked, opening his arms in fake surrender. She took her time to answer, pretending to enjoy her cigarette. Y/N knew she had to tread carefully. "I wanna know more about that bounty. The one you put on Dameron. Who paid for it?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Of course, she should have known he wouldn't answer straightforwardly. "Why does it matter? Your people have been trying to get rid of him for a long time. It should come as a relief that someone is willing to pay so much to help you out in the matter." She hummed, resisting the urge to look at Poe, who stood idly by the door. Could he hear them? She supposed he was trying hard to. He didn't appreciate being sidelined. "Usually, I would agree. But not this time. Dameron is the new leader of the free world, and he has some pieces of information I need. I need him alive for now. He's useful to me. So I need to know who wants him dead so bad because they're a pain in my ass." Gideon considered her answer for a second, then nodded. "Fair enough. I can't tell you, though. Not because I don't want to," Gideon corrected when Y/N frowned, "but because I don't know. The man who contacted me did so anonymously. I received a hologram with a modified voice. We have never met in person, and I can't contact him." "So you're wasting my time," she answered coldly. She would squeeze every last bit of information Gideon had if she needed to, and insulting his professionalism was sure to elicit a reaction from him. Gideon shook his head. "Not exactly. I can't tell you who he is, but I can tell you who he works for." He paused, savoring his effect, and then: "He is from the Senate." Kriffing PARDON?! Y/N couldn't help it - she raised both of her eyebrows, barely managing to turn her shock into a look of surprise. No. It couldn't be! They had been betrayed from the inside?! No, no, no! It was starting all over again! Her blood ran cold. How was she supposed to break the news to Poe? He would be devastated. "A Senator wants the general of the Resistance dead?" She repeated, doing her best to hide the terror threatening to seep through her words. It worked efficiently enough. Gideon looked at her thoughtfully. "You seem surprised," he stated. Try "kriffing shocked"! She shrugged it off, forcing a smile on her face. She felt sick. "Hey, separatists don't exactly wear a badge on their sleeve. I'm pleasantly surprised to see the Empire still has powerful allies." He nodded. "I don't know if he's a Senator for sure. But he does have access to quite a lot of resources and money. Untraceable." That complicated things. Perhaps Rose could take a look anyway? She sincerely hoped he wasn't a Senator because that would be bad. Also... the last time a Senator had conspired against the Republic, the Galaxy had gone to war for years. The wound was still fresh in her mind, even more so in Poe's. Kriff. Poe wasn't going to like that. She took a puff from her cigarette and instantly regretted it but managed not to choke conspicuously. Technically, her work was done. She had gotten the lead she needed. ...But maybe she could try to push him. Y/N leaned forward slightly, and it caught his attention. "I appreciate it. Though... There's something else," she said casually. Gideon stiffened a bit; clearly, she was stepping into uncharted territories as they had not discussed anything else. He remained quiet nonetheless. "I want you to call off the bounty." He burst out laughing. Pretty much the reaction Y/N had been expecting. "Are you kidding me? I don't think so. You're not in a position to-" She raised her hand, silencing him. "I'm going to tell you exactly why it's in your interest to do it," Y/N added patiently. Inside, she was shaking. If he sensed she was bluffing, she was as good as dead. "You got a VIP bounty on the loose. Two million is a lot of money. This means everyone you have is after Dameron. So, until he's been caught, or the bounty is off," she counted on her fingers, "you won't be making any money from bounties. Now, I assume you have other sectors of interest, but still; it'll make a dent in the finances. This underlines a major problem... none of your guys are remotely skilled enough to go after him. It takes a special kind of skill set to go head to head against a pilot like him." "A skill set you happen to possess?" He asked, somewhat sarcastically. Y/N shrugged nonchalantly. "I do. It's only natural that it would take the best pilot of the First Order to terminate the Resistance's finest, isn't it?" To terminate him... the word sounded so dirty in her mouth. She had to remind herself none of this was real. But still... uttering the syllables out loud tarnished her very soul. "While you are correct regarding the money I make from the bounties... restoring the status quo hardly makes up for the twenty percent commission I will make from his capture. Unless you want to make me a counteroffer, this discussion is over." He went to stand up; classic move. Y/N merely raised her cigarette. "I have something better. You're going to stop broadcasting the information. When the buyer contacts you to enquire about it, you'll tell him you have the mission to me, and only me. I will capture Dameron. Take what I need from him, and deliver him as promised. And you can cash in the full bounty. I don't care about the money." He observed her for a second, weighing his options. Y/N didn't waver under his scrutinizing gaze. "The probabilities of him being captured when everyone is after him are higher than the ones of you doing that all by yourself. I'm not really sold..." She smiled. It wasn't her friendly smile. "Oh, I think you know that isn't true, Gideon." He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward; his horns caught the light. "Really?" She hummed. "Really. I think you know I'm your best chance. I'm offering you a deal you can't refuse, and I think you already know you're gonna take it." Y/N fully turned to him, leaning both forearms on the table. She stared at him, hoping her unwavering gaze would drive the point home. She took another breath of smoke. "You're going to accept, and you're going to call off the bounty," she repeated. In her head, she was sending vibes in his direction, focusing all of her brainpower and hoping that her despair would, somehow, be transferred to him and convince him- "I'm going to accept. And I'm going to call off the bounty," Gideon repeated in a low voice. And he- Wait. It had worked? Gideon shook his head slightly as if coming out of a trance. "We have a deal. I'll take the money. You can do whatever you want to Dameron. But I warn you, Miss Y/N; do not fail. I don't have patience with people who do not meet their end of the bargain." Hah. If only he knew. She scoffed, more so at the irony of the situation than at what his words implied. "I'm a woman of honor, Gideon. " Hahahaha. Y/N also was a good liar. Poe would argue the opposite, though. It seemed to ease his mind for some reason, however. He shrugged. "Alright. Come back with me to the main room; I'll have to make a few calls. Then, I'll give you a puck. " He stood back up, and Y/N followed, extinguishing her cigarette in the ashtray on the table. As they were about to leave, Gideon stopped her. "Is Kit working with you on this one? " Why would he be asking? Y/N barely suppressed a frown. She wasn't aware of the degree of his interest in Kit, and she didn't want to blow his cover should he wish to keep working with him. "Kit and I do our best to keep work out of our relationship. But he has made it clear several times that he doesn't like getting involved in the war stuff. " She gave a small laugh for the sake of it. "The closest he will ever come again of the First Order is when he's laying next to me. " Gideon laughed, too, and Y/N relaxed. He owed him one for that joke. "I see. " He didn't add anything; instead, he merely walked out of the booth and headed toward his guards. The plot thickened. Y/N had no idea what the reasoning behind this little interrogation session was. She shrugged it off. Gideon had a plan of his own; she was sure of it. Perhaps he wanted to make sure Kit wasn't part of it. They walked past the two troopers outside, and they both turned to follow after her. Gideon stopped right before the staircase and turned around. "My guards will give you a puck. In the meantime, wait here, and enjoy yourself. I'll be back shortly. " She smiled politely, and off he went, leather cape whipping at his heels. Y/N watched him go, waiting for him to be out of earshot- Kit appeared by her side as soon as he had reached the ground floor. He snaked an arm around her waist as Y/N noticed two guards standing a few meters away. With the club's noise, they wouldn't hear them, but they could see them… and showing no display of affection even though they were supposed to be together would definitely trigger their inner alarm. "How did it go? " He asked lowly, making sure the two pilots behind him could hear. Y/N smiled as if he had just told her something sweet. "We'll debrief when we're alone. I don't have a name, but I've learned a lot about who put the hit on Poe's head. What matters right now is that he's gonna call off the bounty. I talked him into assigning it to me and me alone. " "What? " Poe whispered, barely speaking loud enough for her to hear. "How did you pull that off? " Well… that was a great question. "I'm not sure, " she hummed. "I turned on the charm, and it worked. Offered Gideon a deal he couldn't refuse. " Kit snorted. "Seriously? Just like that? " She gave him a sly smirk. "Why is it so hard to believe? It worked on you, Kit, didn't it? " Before he could try to argue -uselessly, might she add, because he knew damn well she was right- one of the guards approached her. He handed her a puck. Y/N took it with a curt nod. "Is it done? " She asked. "Yes. Boss asked you to stay here for a little bit. He needs to talk to you before you two leave. " Y/N frowned. Hadn't he said he would be back shortly? She bit back her question, and the guard walked away. Downstairs, the music had changed to a more upbeat tone. "Well. I guess we gotta stick around for a bit, or it'll be suspicious. " Great! She sighed but faked a smile nonetheless. "Then let's enjoy the amenities. " Kit led her down the stairs, and the four soldiers took a spot in an empty booth, ordering non-alcoholic beverages to avoid looking out of place. It was palatable a best. Kit went on to pay and chat with the bartender, leaving Y/N alone to nurse her glass. The two guards were right behind her. "Something's not right. Gideon accepted to give up on the bounty? " Poe asked quietly. Y/N hummed negatively in her drink. "Not exactly. I told Gideon I would handle it myself. Bring the bounty to the buyer and he can cash in the full prize. Argued I'm the only one skilled enough to go through with the mission. " He let out a faint snort. Y/N could feel the grin from behind the helmet. "Keep dreaming, Keebler. " Time dragged on; minutes went by. The music changed again; Gideon was still nowhere to be seen. Her now finished drink in hand, Y/N looked around for Kit. He was, conveniently, just walking back to her. …He didn't look happy at all. "Kit? Something the matter? " She asked sweetly. He went right for her ear, leaning until his breath tickled it. "Pretend I'm telling you something hot. But we have a problem. " She giggled. "What's going on? " Y/N took a look around the room. The guards had started to move, looking more alert than before. More of them had come out of the rooms they couldn't access- the ones in the direction of which Gideon had disappeared. "Apparently, something fishy's going on outside. I didn't hear much. But I have a feeling it's got something to do with our friends. " Ah, crap. "Do we need to get out? " "Preferably as fast as possible, yeah. Before Gideon's lapdogs have the time to make it hella harder for us. " Perhaps they had spotted their friends? Maker, Y/N certainly hoped they weren't in trouble. She casually stretched toward the backdoor that was a couple of tables away, subtly hinting at a swift escape- But some guards beat her to it, the door opening to let in a couple of them. Dank Farrik. Okay, think, Y/N. Think. There were only two entries, minus the one in Gideon's office they would never reach in time. Plus, it would be heavily guarded, and as much as she was skilled with her blade, she wasn't particularly fond of confrontation for the sake of it. The main entrance it would be, then. Y/N confidently started walking toward the door they had come in through, pretending to admire the dancers on her way out. She wasn't walking too fast and not too slow either. Kit's voice came from her side. "They're looking for someone. " Kriff. Okay, they weren't too- "KIT! STOP RIGHT HERE! " Someone shouted. Y/N's head whipped toward the entrance. A guard had irrupted in the club, gun aimed at her friend by her side. She didn't even think about it. Y/N unclasped her knife from her left arm and threw it across the room at a dizzying speed. It lodged itself blade first in the guard's chest, who collapsed, accidentally firing his gun on the roof in the process. People screamed. Time felt like it slowed down. Kit kicked a table up, using it as a shield, and grabbed his blaster as both Poe And Skylen raised their rifles. The first blaster shots missed them by a hair, and Kit dragged her down with him, taking cover behind the table. "Well. So much for a swift exit," Y/N groaned.

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron reader insert #poe dameron fanfiction #star wars #star wars reader insert #star wars fanfiction #female reader

10 notes · View notes